I Want To
by Black Mary Janes
Summary: Chekov isn't the only whiz kid at the Academy. Hot-headed Natalia Flores is also young, bright, and fairly naive. And there are several things she wants to do to the Russian, the least of which involves pain and a bit of revenge. Chekov/OC
1. Hit Him

**Hi there! So this is my first time in this fandom, and trust me, I'm a little terrified. I know everyone hates OC stories, but people do read them as guilty pleasures, and that's what I'm here for. This was originally a oneshot, but I have more ideas, so it will probably grow. I modified it from it's original form to make it something that can grow. **

**Of course, I don't have to tell you that I love reviews and feedback. So just drop me line, tell me how you like it, and that will actually make me write faster! All right, so it looks like I'm done here, so enjoy! **

* * *

The first time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to hit him.

She was first-year cadet, one of the first to make it into Star Fleet Academy before she turned fifteen. She had scored the highest in her country on the placement exam, and had left her home in Barcelona, Spain with all the pomp and circumstance of a hero. She was young and full of herself, a dreadful combination when it came to fitting into her new environment.

She was preparing for her first class with her roommate, another first year named Rachel. She was eighteen and as American as apple pie, a new experience for the Spaniard.

"So, are ya excited Natalia?" She was pulling her blond hair up in a high ponytail, her Southern accent thick up until the younger girl's name, which she had spent two hours learning how to say the night before.

"Of course." Natalia Flores had to remind herself to speak English. "I'm a little worried as well. I don't want to make a fool of myself."

"You won't!" Natalia had to wonder how so many teeth could be on display at once. Rachel didn't stop smiling as she straightened her cadet uniform. "Everyone will be so impressed that you made it here! And don't you worry, hon. If anyone gives you any trouble, I'll get some of the boys across the quad to take care of them." Rachel already knew most of the boys in the dormitory directly across from their own, and most would be willing to do anything she said.

"Thank you." Natalia smiled softly, still wondering how the blonde got her mouth to open so wide. "I'm sure I won't have any problems." She ran her fingers through her dark shoulder length hair, following Rachel's example and straightening her uniform.

"Well, my first class is on the other side of campus." Rachel picked up her bag, throwing her roommate one last, huge smile. "I'll see you at lunch, right?"

"Yes." Natalia nodded, and watched her first friend leave the room. She stood in silence a moment longer, letting all of her nervous energy build. Finally, when she felt as though she would explode, she did a quick, impromptu dance, jumping around to a beat in her head until she was calm again. She took a deep breath, grabbed her bag, and ran out the door.

The sun was shedding light off every surface, making the grass even more vibrant. Natalia smiled as she crossed the quad as slowly as possible. Her first class, Theoretical Physics I, was in the first academic building, and she wanted to soak up as much sun as she could before locking her self in a classroom for hours. The sun reminded her of home, and she couldn't kick the habit of strolling rather than walking.

Lost as she was in her daydreams, she didn't notice another figure walking in the opposite direction until the two had collided in a sickening crunch. Two angry voices filled the air, both spewing insults and curses in two different languages.

"Watch where you're going!" Natalia finally managed to say in English, her accent thick with her anger.

"Why don't you take your own advice?" The voice responded, in an equally thick but completely different accent. Natalia pushed herself up off the ground to find a boy next to her, not far from her age. His light brown curls were scattered every which way, his pale skin reflecting more sunlight than the nearby buildings. He was glaring at her angrily, trying to pick himself up from the grass.

"Why don't you go find some manners?!" She snapped, standing up.

"Why don't you go back to your mommy?" He yelled, pulling himself to full height. He was taller than her, but he was scrawny. She was sure she would beat him in fight.

"Why don't both of you move along to your appropriate classes?" An even taller man in the gray uniform of a professor had come behind them, watching the tail end of the exchange.

"Yes sir." Came the mumbled replies from both teenagers. They turned towards the same building and ended up walking side by side.

"Stop following me." Natalia hissed.

"Russian men don't follow anyone." He countered.

"Do Russian men every shut up?" She asked.

"No." His chest puffed out with pride, and she rolled her eyes. The marched side by side into the same classroom, and Natalia literally bit her tongue to keep from screaming.

"Cadets, you are late." Another man in the professor's grays was standing at the front as the entered.

"I'm sorry, sir." Natalia answered quickly. "It won't happen again, sir."

"Be assured it won't." The man agreed. "Now, may I have your names?"

"Flores, Natalia." She said without hesitation.

"Chekov, Pavel." The boy next to her answered. Their names were marked, and they were sent to their seats. The professor started the discussion with a review of the basic physics they should have entered the class with. Natalia didn't pay attention to most of it, and was surprised when her name was called.

"Flores!" Her gaze returned to the front of the room where the professor was looking at her expectantly. There was a murmur of laughter through the room as he gave her an icy glare. "Do you care to explain Newton's third law?"

"Yes, sir." She said, her voice ringing through the lecture hall. "Newton's third law states that inertia is the tendency of objects at rest to stay at rest unless an outside force acts upon the object. The opposite, an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon an outside force, is also true."

She has halfway through her explanation when she heard the quiet buzz of chatter around her, a sure sign she was wrong. She winced as she earned another dirty look from her professor.

"Cadet Flores, that is incorrect." He turned away from her, and she bit her bottom lip against the flow of tears that threatened. "Is there anyone out there who can correct this young lady?" A single hand shot up in front of Natalia, and she bit even harder, this time to keep from screaming. "Yes, Cadet Chekov?" The professor said, turning to Natalia's first enemy on campus.

"What Miss Flores stated was Newton's first law." Despite his best efforts to look neutral, Chekov had a smirk on his face that only served to infuriate the hot-blooded Spaniard further. "Newton's third law states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction."

"Very good, Cadet Chekov." The professor turned back to the front of the class, sparing just a quick smile to young man. "Clearly the schooling in Russia is a bit more up to par that the Spanish counterparts."

It was all Natalia could do to keep still and silent for the rest of the hour.

***

"Hey there!" Rachel hailed her towards a table when lunch finally arrived. Natalia sat down next to her friend, her anger having bubbled in her for two classes. "You look madder than a whole nest full of hornets. What happened?"

"That little Russian bastard over there." Natalia had focused her death glare clear across the mess hall, where Chekov was sitting with a bunch of other boys. Rachel followed her gaze, and frowned in confusion.

"He's darlin'." She said. Natalia raised an eyebrow, having never encountered that term before. "Cute." She clarified, and Natalia gagged. "What' d he do to you?"

Natalia recounted her morning, having to pause occasionally and repeat herself when she inadvertently switched languages. By the end of her rant, Rachel's blue eyes were narrowed into the sweetest glare Natalia had ever seen. This girl clearly didn't have a mean bone in her body.

"Well, we won't be looking at him anymore, will we?" Rachel picked up her tray and moved to the other side of the table, effectively blocking the offensive Russian boy from eyesight. "How's that?" She asked, returning to her bright self.

"Thanks Rachel." Natalia grinned at her friend's solution. "I still think you should get some of those boys to beat him up."

"That's not nice, Nata." Rachel said.

"I don't care what's nice." Natalia pouted, stabbing at her lunch a little more viciously than necessary. "I still want to hit him."


	2. Kill Him

**Hey there! So I got a great response from the first chapter, and since I'm clearly thinking of nothing else right now, I got the second part done overnight! Natalia may seem a bit bitchy in these first few chapters, but she'll get a bit better. Not tons, because her personality is just kind of bitchy, but obviously she won't hate Chekov as much. But anyway, don't forget to review, and enjoy part two!**

* * *

The second time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to kill him.

Natalia Flores had managed to make it through a whole year of Theoretical Physics I with Chekov in her class. In that time there were no injuries, and no disciplinary action taken. She had kept her cool, as Rachel had told her to do.

Of course, in the last week of classes, something had to come along and ruin that.

"Now, there are several skills you will need on a starship that cannot be taught in a lecture setting." The same angry professor was busy wrapping up another long-winded set of instructions for what promised to be the toughest paper and model Natalia had ever been instructed to do. "One of those skills would be cooperation. The ability to work in a team without too much shouting and violence and the such." Natalia perked up slightly, wary of the direction this was going. "As such, this project will be tackled in pairs. On the top of your project description you will find the name of your partner. There will be no switching of partners. Please just do the task assigned and so it well." He turned back to his desk, sitting down. "You are dismissed."

Natalia grabbed her PADD, frantically opening the file containing the project descriptor. As it flashed to life, her jaw dropped. The name "P. Chekov" flashed in front of her. Groaning, she let her head hit the desk. The pain couldn't be much worse than the one walking towards her at that moment.

"Cadet Flores." She could barely understand him through that accent, and it made the pain in her head throb slightly. "I understand that we…what is the term…?"

"Hate each other?" Natalia quipped. "Are mortal enemies? Shouldn't even be in the same room together?"

"I was going to saw that we got off on the wrong foot." He looked slightly hurt at her words, and she felt a small twinge of guilt as a voice that sounded suspiciously like Rachel scolded her for her behavior. "But if you would prefer that we be enemies, I'm sure that wouldn't be too much trouble."

"No, I didn't mean that." She hid her face, which was flushing with embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Chekov. I'm acting like a jerk, and you don't deserve that." She regained her composure, and stood up. "Let's just start over, shall we?"

"Yes, that would be nice." He took a step back, giving her space to push in her chair and gather her stuff. Once she was settled, he stuck out his hand. "Pavel Chekov."

She smiled, not quite Rachel's full out smile, but not her usual small smirk. "Natalia Flores." She slid her hand into his, and the two shook. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine." He said. The pair was frozen like that, not sure how else to carry on. There was an awkward silence, in which Natalia let her bag slip off her shoulder.

"Whoops." She caught it deftly with the hand that he had been holding. "Sorry." She said, biting her lip anxiously. "So…I actually have another class to go to."

"Me too." He nodded, looking anywhere but at her.

"But, we should meet this afternoon to go over this assignment." She said. "How about this afternoon? Three o'clock in the main library sound good?"

"That sounds fine." Chekov said, meeting her eyes for a fleeting moment before turning away. "I will see you then, yes?"

"Yes." She nodded, and watched him scuttle out as though she had bitten him. _I don't get it. _She thought to herself. _I'm mean to him, and he doesn't get the hint, and then I try to be nice to him, and he runs away. _She shook her head. _Must be a Russian thing. _She left the room feeling puzzled, which was not the best way to arrive to a challenging Calculus class.

***

At 2:55, Natalia was by the doorway of the main library, her physics notes in her bag. Despite the truce made that morning, she still felt a bit of hostility towards the Russian. She still felt the pinpricks of shame whenever she heard the name Newton, and the other cadets in that class had started calling her by the name. Even now, leaning against the cool exterior of the library, a student hailed her with a wave and "Hey, Newton!" She groaned, and let her head fall against the side, making a terrific bang.

"Was that cadet talking to you?" The thick accent was the first tip off. Natalia opened her eyes to see Chekov looking at her curiously. She scowled gently. Even now, he was cheerful, though they were doing nothing but going over notes and assigning jobs.

"Yes, he was." She said slowly, lifting her head up and opening the door. He reached out to hold it as she slid inside to the controlled climate.

"Why didn't he call you by your name?" He asked. He was so innocent, so naïve, part of her couldn't deal with it.

"Because of you, smart ass." She said through her teeth. He blinked a few times, and she clarified. "Remember from the first class? Newton's third law of motion?"

"Oh, yes." He nodded solemnly. "You are still teased about that?"

"Yes, I am." She said slowly, attempting to keep her voice low. By now she had found a table far from the main desk where the librarian sat.

"I am sorry." He said, sitting next to her. She chanced a look at him, and was immediately struck by his eyes, searching for hers and filled with real guilt. "I didn't mean to humiliate you."

"What makes you think you did?" She asked, her voice much softer than she had intended. She looked down at the table, pulling out her PADD and pulled up the directions. "This whole project is stupid anyway." She said. "We're only teamed together because we're the youngest one there."

"How old are you?" He asked, opening his own document.

"I turned fifteen last month." She said, only admitting it because she knew he was the same age.

"I turn fifteen next month." He said with a smile. "We are well matched."

"That's one way of looking at it." She said, turning back to her document.

They spent the next hour dividing up the work and deciding on when they could work together. The presentation of their model was in two weeks, with the paper due at the time of presentation. That gave them two weekends to work, along with any time they could manage after classes.

"I think we'll have plenty of time." Chekov said, reviewing the schedule Natalia had drawn up meticulously. "This is not a difficult assignment."

"There's just a lot involved with it." Natalia nodded.

"We'll do well." He said, clearly confident. "Nothing can go wrong."

***

Of course, when one says that nothing can go wrong, one is just tempting fate.

There were three days left until the presentation, and Natalia was beginning to get nervous. She had done presentations at her old school, but she had also felt much smarter than the kids there. She was much younger than the students here, and they were already looking for any excuse to laugh at her. She knew that with some practice she would calm down, and that was why she scheduled a day to practice the presentation. Of course, it would be much easier to practice if she had the presentation with her.

Chekov had insisted on keeping all of their data on his PADD, as he claimed to take better care of his. It wouldn't be a problem, except that Chekov wasn't here on time.

After thirty minutes alone in one of the workstations in the library, she sighed, giving up and heading back to the dorms. She had just reached the quad, her dorm in sight, when she heard her name being shouted in full, familiar accent.

"Natalia, wait!" He ran up, stopping just as she turned around. "I am so sorry!"

"Save it." She cut him off, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Do you know how long I was waiting for you?"

"I know, and I'm sorry." He said. "But I didn't just mean to leave you there. There was an emergency."

"It better have been a damn good emergency." She said, running a shaky hand through her hair.

"My PADD fell out the window." He spit out.

Natalia's blood ran cold. "Out the window?" She asked. He nodded. "Which window?"

"That one." He turned and pointed to the top floor of his dorm building.

"The thirteenth floor?" She asked. He nodded, wincing in pain. "It didn't survive, did it?"

"No." He opened the bag he had been holding to reveal several crushed pieced of metal and plastic inside. "We have to start over."

Natalia nodded, her face dropping into her hands. Chekov waited, watching her pull herself together. "I'm sorry." He said again as she lowered her hands.

"I know you are." She nodded. "Just…don't let me touch you, okay? I might kill you."

"Okay." He said, stowing away the bag of garbage. "We should probably start tonight, shouldn't we?"

"Yeah." She hitched up her bag, counting in her head in her native tongue. "Seriously, though, don't touch me. I'm really trying not to kill you right now."

***

Three days later, the presented their model. The first halve went fine, but then it was Chekov's turn to talk.

"We then had to calculate the escape velocity of not one but-"

"What was that?" Natalia looked up and saw one of the older students waving his hand around. She caught his eyes, and he took that as a chance to continue. "I didn't hear what he said. What was that?"

"Come on, man, don't you know what an escape well-ocity is?" Another older cadet from across the room yelled. The room erupted into laughter, and Natalia swore she saw Chekov blush.

"Hey, jerk-off!" She yelled, not sure why she was doing it. "How many languages can you speak?"

"What kind of question is that?" He asked, clearly missing her point.

"A good one." She said scathingly. "Until you can speak all the languages he can, I wouldn't be using the one you know."

"He doesn't know English very good." The guy grumbled, and Natalia snorted.

"Clearly you don't know English very _well_ either." She said. There was another buzz of chatter through the classroom as the guy looked down, noticing his mistake. She took a deep breath to steady her temper, and turned back to her partner. "Please, continue Pavel."

He spared her a quick smile and cleared his throat. "As I was saying, we then had to calculate the escape velocity of…"

***

This time when they sat down to lunch, Rachel and Natalia joined Chekov, some of his friends, and other member of the Theoretical Physics I class. They were listening to one of Rachel's stories about her cousin's farm when Natalia felt a tug at her sleeve. She turned to Chekov on her left, cutting an apple in half.

"Would you like some?" He asked, handing her a half.

"Thanks." She smiled, turning the fruit over in her hands.

"No, thank you." He said, careful to not look at her. "You didn't have to do that in class today."

"Do what?" She asked, honestly confused.

"Stand up for me like that." He was definitely blushing now. "No one's really done that before, and I didn't want you to think that you had to."

"Yes I do." She said, leaning down and catching his eyes. "You shouldn't have to put up with that, and I won't let you, okay?"

"Okay." He agreed, taking a bite out of his half of the apple. He chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, then spoke again. "Does this mean we're friends?"

"No." She shook her head, hoping he would catch the sarcasm in her voice. "I might want to kill you again, and if you're my friend I can't do that."


	3. Send Him Away

**So I'm pretty sure two chapters in one day is a personal record. But my reviews so far have been great, so I've had a little extra motivation. I want to thank my reviewers, random_chibi, Sam, Harelquin Sequins, really, PetiteDiable, RizzaLikePizza, and .wonderland. You guys are great, and that's what is keeping thes echapters coming!!**

**A totally unrelated factoid for everyone here: I usually listen to my most recently added music when I write, and as a result every time I sit down to write a new chapter of this story, I hear the All American Rejects song "I Wanna" every single time. It's a little weird. **

* * *

The third time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to send him away.

Natalia had been called home in the beginning of her second year at the Academy when her uncle died. She was gone for a full month to mourn and help her family transition into their new life. While she loved being home for the end of the summer season, the sunshine and beach weather made her family even sadder. While she loved her family, she was glad when she finally returned to school.

The morning of her arrival seem to slip everyone's mind. Though capable of finding her dorm and settling herself, she had been expecting someone to be there. Rachel, maybe, or her new friend Taylor from her required language class. She would have even expected Chekov to be there, but his bright smile was missing among the masses milling around. She was clearly mistaken, because even as she entered her dorm room, she found that Rachel had gotten ready for the day and left, her bed perfectly made as always.

Sitting down on her own bed, Natalia felt a wave of loss at not seeing any of her friends. She had spent the better part of the month writing to them, and they had responded. They knew exactly when she was supposed to be home, and though she didn't expect a parade, she did expect some acknowledgment.

Sighing, she fought back tears. This was stupid. She shouldn't be crying over something so trivial. She was fifteen, for crying out loud! That was beyond the point of crying for not reason, or a stupid reason. Still, she had missed her friends more than she expected, and she still hadn't dealt with the pain of losing a relative. She had insisted on being strong for her family, who needed her then. But now, in the abandoned dorm room, with Rachel's stuffed animal collection staring her down, she realized that she hadn't cried once in Spain.

She grabbed a pillow and sobbed, her shoulders shaking with multiple little hurts that suddenly seemed like a very big deal. She probably had a class to go to soon, but she refused. She was going to spend the rest of the day here in her room, sorting out all these stupid emotions. Only when she was back in order, and not so fragile, would she return to her studies. It should only take a few hours.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when she heard the computer whirl to life outside the door. Her sobs had quieted down to whimpers, and in the silence of the room the hum of the computer working sounded like an engine.

That wasn't the only sound she heard. Accompanying the whirl of the computer was frantic muttering, accompanied by a few familiar, if indistinct curses.

"No, she said two. Two eight seven four…right?" There was more cursing as the computer denied the visitor access.

"Pavel?" Natalia whispered, pulling herself up off the bed and walking to the door. She typed in her own access code and the door opened, revealing the Russian scowling at the keypad in front of him.

"No, it must have a five." He shook his head, pursing his lips in concentration.

"It's open, you know." She said, just loud enough to be heard. He looked up, and the frustration was blasted away as he smiled.

"Nata!" He reached out and hugged the smaller girl, putting her in a slight state of shock. "I was hoping to get in before you got here, but I couldn't get the door code right, and then I had to go to class, but I knew you would want to see someone soon after arriving." He was rambling because he wasn't sure what to say. She had suffered a loss, so she should be sad, but he didn't know if she was one to show her pain.

"Come in." She said finally, breaking out of his grasp and pulling him towards the door. He entered, and the door closed with a hiss. She was furiously trying to hide her tears, but she wasn't fast enough.

"You have been crying?" He asked, following her to her former spot on the bed.

"No." She denied, though her voice was thick with tears.

"Yes, you have." He sat down next to her, feeling a little awkward. He had never lost a family member, nor did he have much experience with comforting people. He had silently been hoping that Rachel would be around for this part, the tears and sobbing and such. But just because he felt like the proverbial fish out of water didn't mean he was going to flop around and do nothing. He reached out and took her hand, slipping her finger through his, and moving closer to her. "You know, you can talk to me. I'll listen."

"I know you will." She said softly, trying to avoid his attentive gaze. He persisted in watching her, and finally she cracked a small, watery smile. "You're pushy like that." She said, turning to face him.

"I like to think of it as determination." He argued, keeping the banter light. She smiled again, but tightened her grip on his hand. "What is wrong?" He asked softly.

"Everything." She said, her voice cracking. "The whole time I was in Spain, I didn't cry once. I was sad, but I didn't cry. I couldn't. I don't know why, but I just couldn't. I couldn't let them see me that weak." She tried to pull away, but Chekov kept his grip on her. "I don't want anyone to see me this weak. Including you."

"You are not weak." He shook his head, still watching her every move. "You are one of the strongest people I know. You're just…in pain right now. It happens to everyone, you know."

"I don't care." She said furiously. "I don't want to be like everyone else. I don't want to feel this."

"It doesn't matter." He shook his head. "You have to feel it. You can't know all the good emotions if you don't also know the bad."

"You should have been a philosopher." She said bitterly, refusing to acknowledge the wisdom of his words.

"Perhaps I will be, once my time with Star Fleet is over." He shrugged, returning to his original topic. "But I am right about that. You have to go through this, you have to feel it. You will be better for it."

"Sure, whatever." She grumbled, lowering he gaze. She stared determinedly at his knee, trying to pull herself together. She had finally cried herself out, and now she was sensing a feeling in her stomach that told her that she was ready for the outside world again. Then her stomach rumbled, and she sighed. Maybe she wasn't ready for the outside world, but she was certainly ready for lunch.

"I made you miss you last class." She realized, looking up. He shrugged, looking away from Rachel's stuffed animals, which he had been eyeing suspiciously, as though he expected an attack.

"It is no problem." He reached up slowly and pushed the hair away from her face. "I will not need that class as a navigator."

"You will need it to graduate." She reminded him. He laughed, as though the thought of graduation wasn't a worry.

"You're hungry, and it is almost lunch time." He said, standing up and bringing her with him. "Now, go clean up, and I will wait here. We'll walk to lunch together." He gently pushed her towards the bathroom door, and she spared him a smile before she closed the bathroom door behind her.

"God, he's right." She said, looking in the mirror. "I look like holy hell." Her mascara had run down her cheeks, despite the promise of being waterproof. She had bitten her lip enough to turn it red, though she hadn't broken the skin. Shaking her head, she went to work cleaning herself off, attempting to look professional when she finally returned to her classmates.

She emerged a few minutes later, looking like she had spent the morning resting, and not bawling her eyes out.

"Much better." Chekov stood, straightening his uniform as she did hers. "We are both presentable now."

"Yes, we are." She agreed, and as he linked his arm through hers and led them to the door, she was glad she hadn't sent him away.


	4. Yell at Her

**This would have been up last night, but stupid site was on the fritz, making my life miserable. Anyway, I decided to switch it up a little, and put this one (mostly) in Chekov's point of view. It was a little more challenging, but fun, so I might have a few more chapters like this. And there is a slight introduction to some of the other characters, which should be interesting, to say the least. **

* * *

The fourth time he saw Natalia Flores, he wanted to yell at her.

He had known her for nearly two years now. He considered her one of his closest friends, and he had been under the impression that she held him in a similar position. Clearly, he was wrong, or he wouldn't be in the predicament he found himself now.

She had just turned sixteen, her own birthday just a month before his. Still underage, he reminded himself. Still jailbait, he growled in his mind, using a term he had picked up from Rachel. And yet there she was, sitting on a bench being wooed by Jim Kirk.

Something in Chekov began to boil as he watched Natalia run a hand through her hair, which she had let grow out since she had arrived in San Francisco. She was listening to Kirk talk with a smile on her face, her eyes sparkling with amusement. She shook her head, and Chekov could almost hear the sarcastic tone that accompanied that head shake.

He finally tore his eyes from the scene in front of him, taking a deep breath and continuing his walk to the library. He wasn't so much walking anymore as stomping, but he figured that he was allowed that bit of childish behavior. He was, after all, younger than her now. She had been sure to tell him that on her birthday. He had barely walked through the door when Rachel, the perfect sounding board, sensed his bad mood and came out of thin air to ask him about it.

"What's eating you, Pavel?" She asked, following him to the familiar corner where he did most of his work. She had a stack of books with her, all clearly related to one of her exobiology classes.

"Nothing is eating me." He gave her clear look of confusion. She shook her head, raising an eyebrow. "Oh, right." He smiled, remember a conversation from the previous day. "You mean what's bothering me. Right, I knew that." He dropped it there, and it wasn't until she coughed that he realized she wasn't going to let him off the hook. "Natalia is out there talking to James Kirk."

"Seriously?" Rachel's eyes sparkled. "That's great! He was going to ask her-" She was cut off by a growl of frustration and the bang on a fist on the table top.

"He shouldn't be asking her anything!" He exclaimed. "She is still a girl!! She is not suited to any of his needs" He grew more disgusted with every word he said.

"No, Pavel, he's not asking her something like that." She shook her head, trying to explain. "He's just asking if she will-"

"And you should not be encouraging this behavior!" He said, standing up. "You are supposed to be her friend, not throwing her to a dog!" With that, he continued his stomping, straight out the door. He automatically glanced at the bench, but found it empty. _They have probably gone somewhere more private. _ He grumbled to himself, and at the thought he felt sick to his stomach. He stormed back to his dorm room, and refused to leave for the rest of the day.

***

The following morning, Natalia Flores wanted to see her friend Pavel. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be found. Natalia found Rachel at their usual breakfast table, but no one else. She approached, knowing she only had a few moments to chat before grabbing power bar and running off to the test center.

"Rachel, where Pavel?" She asked, sliding into a seat.

"I don't know." She shook her head, her nose stuck in a large volume that could have easily killed a person if used correctly. "Here, I grabbed you something." She handed her friend a power bar, and Natalia let out a squeal.

"Thanks Rach." She said, checking the clock at the front of the mess hall and jumping back up. "Hopefully I'll find him before the test."

"Oh yeah, good luck on that." Rachel said.

"It's not my test." Natalia reminded her.

"Well, tell Jim good luck then." Rachel shrugged. She was already absorbed in her text again.

"Sure thing." She said, running towards the door. She hummed to herself as she set a brisk pace towards the proper building, grinning at the sight of a knot of people waiting to be let in.

"You sure you want to do this again?" Natalia recognized Dr. McCoy from around campus, though she had never formally been introduced. She did know of his friendship with Kirk, and as such was not surprised to see him there.

"Hey, Whiz Kid." Jim smiled when he saw the girl coming towards him. She also noticed McCoy's expression change from disbelieve to scorn in a few seconds time.

"What's she doing here?" He asked. "I've got you to babysit, Jim, I don't need another."

"She's my navigator." Kirk smirked, putting an arm around Natalia. "She's one of the best on campus."

"Jim, this is a simulation." McCoy looked as though he was about to have an aneurysm, something he could probably treat on anyone but himself. "There's no need for a real navigator, since you won't actually be going anywhere."

"But why should she miss the fun?" Kirk asked.

"Oh yes, great fun." A new voice was added to the mix, and Natalia saw Cadet Uhura join the knot of people. "Kirk, why make more people suffer? You're just going to fail again."

"Hopefully just a little less miserably, this time." McCoy said, ever hopeful.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a technician poked his head out. "Kirk, I still can't believe you came back for seconds." He shook his head, holding open the door. "All right, get in here."

Natalia followed behind Uhura, and the older woman looked at her curiously. "You haven't done this before, have you?" She asked, and Natalia shook her head. The woman chuckled quietly. "It's easy. Just pay attention to your screen. All your lines are there, and you don't even need to work. The tech crew will do everything. They are testing Kirk, not us."

"How did you know I was nervous?" She asked as the entered the small bridge set.

"You were sweating bullets." Uhura said. She took her seat at the communications center, giving the young girl one last smile. Natalia returned the gesture, taking her seat at the captain's right. As she sat down, the screen whirled to life in front of her. Text appeared, and Natalia had to smother her laughter as she read.

"_Welcome Cadet to the Kobayashi Maru simulation. Today you will be playing the part of the navigator. We ask that you take this simulation seriously, as the outcome does not affect you but the person in the captain's chair." _Natalia turned to see Kirk lounging in the command chair, one leg up over the arm and his head lolling over the back. _"You lines will appear in blue text today. Please pay attention to the prompter and do not adlib any additional lines that could help or harm your captain."_

As the official script popped up, the screens at the front of the ship lit up and showed nothing but the blackness of space with tiny pinpricks for distant stars.

"Are you ready, Cadet Kirk?" A mysterious voice asked over an intercom.

"Of course." He said, raising his head slightly.

On the other side of the console, McCoy rolled his eyes and groaned. He looked up at Natalia, and seemed to form an alliance with her in that moment. "Twenty bucks says he gets us all killed in ten minutes."

"I won't bet against that." She mumbled, and McCoy chuckled appreciatively.

***

Lunch time came, and Chekov's initial anger had grown to full on fury. He stormed into the mess hall, determined to find Natalia, who he hadn't seen all morning, and demand to know why she was running around with playboy Kirk. He spotted her, sitting at a new table with Rachel, Kirk, and some others that Chekov didn't recognize. Despite the fact that he knew he was about to make a massive fool of himself, he stormed ahead, not even halfway across the hall before Natalia looked up and saw him. She smiled at first, then observed his own expression, and became troubled.

"Pavel?" She stood and crossed what little space was left. "What happened to you? You've got that same look you get when someone says something terrible about Russia."

"Where were you all morning?" He hissed. "Why were you not in any classes? What, you think because you have some new boyfriend that you can just shirk your duties?"

"Boyfriend?" She raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You are not going to play stupid with me." Chekov ordinarily would have been excited that he had properly used American slang, but he barely noticed this time.

"Let's go outside." She said, gripping him by the shoulder and steering him towards the door. He protested, but had switched to Russian in his anger, and his best curses went unheeded. "There's no need to act like toddler throwing a temper tantrum." She said, her voice snapping into a bitter tone. They broke out into the weak autumn sunlight, and she sat him down on the stone steps. "Now, explain to me in English who this new boyfriend supposedly is and why you are so spitting mad at me."

"You didn't tell me that you were interested in Kirk." Chekov was still mad, but seemed to relax under her watchful and slightly worried gaze.

"Kirk?" She asked, clearly taken by surprise. "He's the reason behind all this?" When Chekov didn't answer, she implied her own. "I'll take that as a yes."

"He was…wooing you on that bench the other day." He had been reduced to a sulk, though his temper flared as she let out a bright laugh.

"He wasn't wooing me the way you think he was." She said, sitting down on the step below him and taking his hand. He looked up, meeting her gaze. "He was doing the Kobayashi Maru simulation again, and he wanted me in there to play his navigator. There was nothing…romantic about it, Pavel. He just needed another person to be in the room, and he knew I had wanted to see the sim. It was kind of him, but it didn't mean any more than that."

"It…didn't?" He asked. She shook her head, her dark eyes wide and innocent. "But when you were outside, you were playing with your hair and smiling at him."

"I do that with people I feel comfortable with." She explained. "I do that with Rachel and you all the time. He's just a friend, I promise." She reached up, taking his face in her hand as he prepared to look away. "You're one of my best friends now. I wouldn't do something like that behind your back. I don't want or need to be sneaky with you."

He felt his skin grow warm under her touch. "So you don't think of him…like that?"

"Of course not." She scoffed, moving her hand from his cheek to his hair, capturing a few of his curls between her fingers. "He's not exactly my type, you know. He's too full of himself."

"What is your type?" He asked, a glimmer of hope returning to his eyes.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "I'm only sixteen. How should I know that yet?" She smiled as he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of her hand in his hair. "Come on." She said finally, standing up. "We're missing lunch, and I'm starving."

As they reentered the mess hall, this time as friends, Chekov wondered why he didn't yell at her. He could have, outside where no one would pay much attention to them. Then he sat down across from her, and was treated to her smile, and he remembered the way her hand felt against his skin. That was why he didn't yell at her. She was too beautiful for that.


	5. Hate Him

**Two in one day! I'm really not sure where this is going, though. I have one more chapter written, and after that, I have no idea where to take this. If any of you have ideas or know where you want this to go, tell me, because I'm stuck. I'm really lost, and that's not good. Help me out a little and just tell me what you think should happen. I'm really open to ideas. But anyway, thanks to everyone who is reviewing, and keep it up!!**

* * *

The fifth time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to hate him.

It was Rachel's birthday, barely a month into the new school year, and to celebrate they were throwing a party in the boys' dorm across the quad. Rachel, of course, was ecstatic. Natalia, on the other hand, was wary.

"We're not allowed to have parties like that in the dorms." She hissed over lunch the day before the big night. She had started her campaign early, but had been ignored by almost everyone involved.

"So?" Rachel asked. "We do anyway. Why are you so against this party?"

"It's not that I'm against this party, I'm against all parties that break the rules." She explained, spearing a piece of pasta so viciously that it ripped in half. "This is just the first party that I am forced to attend."

"Then shut up and get over it." Rachel rolled her eyes. "It's not like they can suspend you for this. The most that can happen is a few hours of service. And trust me, you're record could use a spot or too, little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes."

"What does that even mean?" Natalia rolled her eyes, confused once again by Rachel's American slang.

"It means you need to loosen up, which is what this party is going to do." Rachel said, staying on her target. "And anyway, we already told you Pavel is coming."

"You say that like it should change my mind." She groaned, still stabbing at her food rather than eating it.

"That's another thing we need to cure you of." Rachel decided. "You need to admit that you like him."

"I do not like him." Natalia growled, scanning the mess hall to make sure he wasn't nearby. She sighed with relief when he stumbled in from the far end, looking like he ran most of the way. "Now drop the subject before he gets the wrong idea."

"Oh, yes, of course." She rolled her blue eyes, not bothering to lower her voice. "Because why should we ever give him the idea that you might possibly like him a whole lot more than you will admit to?"

"Shut up!" She hissed, feeling her cheeks turn red.

"Why should I?" Now Rachel dropped her voice. "Maybe if you weren't being so stubborn, you would be able to admit that you're blushing because I'm telling the truth."

Natalia found herself lost for words for the first time in her life. "Just…just shut up!" She hissed, just as Chekov sat down.

"What have I done now?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not you." Natalia shook her head, going back to destroying her lunch. "I was talking to Rachel."

Chekov's eyes went from Natalia to Rachel and back again. "Is this one of those…cat fights I keep hearing about?" He asked, clearly confused.

"No." Rachel grumbled, glaring at the table top between her and the Russian. "Natalia is just being stubborn."

"But she is always like that." He said, still as oblivious as he had been.

"Yeah, annoying, isn't it?" Rachel said, standing up and taking her lunch tray with her.

Chekov watched the older girl leave before turning to his friend. "What did you do?"

"I told her this party is a stupid idea, like I've been telling her for a month now." Natalia grumbled, giving up on the pasta and now demolishing a brownie. "If she wants to get in trouble, she can, but that's no reason to drag me into it."

"Are you not going?" He looked worried, and Natalia looked up to see that he was.

"I don't want to." She said slowly. "But I'll probably have to. Why?"

"I don't want to go unless you are going to be there." He shrugged, as though it were common sense. "This seems like a situation where it would be best for us to stick together, given our odd circumstance." He was referring, of course, to their age. Natalia shrugged.

"I'll have to be there." She said finally. "She'll kill me if I'm not, and I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"She is your friend." Chekov nodded in agreement. He chanced a look at Natalia and decided that she was done with that topic. "So, how was your language test this morning?"

"Terrible." She said, though she couldn't help but smile. Sure, he hadn't master the art of being subtle yet, but Chekov still knew how to distract her, and she was grateful.

***

"So you're really coming?" Rachel asked. She was wearing far more make-up than normal, and somehow the skirt to her uniform had gotten much shorter. Natalia decided it was better not to ask.

"Yes." She nodded, watching Rachel get ready for this party. She seemed miffed that the uniform requirement still stood, but as the party was on campus, it was to be expected. She had clearly altered it, though, and even now, Natalia couldn't help compare it to those Halloween costumes that always came out, the naughty version of something that was actually quite innocent, such a nurse or a maid, or in this case, a Starfleet Cadet.

"Just try not to put a damper on things, okay?" Rachel said. "I mean, I know you can't help but be all mother-hen-like and whatever, but just…don't be a wet blanket."

"Sure thing." Natalia nodded, not quite understanding what she said but finding it best to agree. Finally, Rachel was ready, and the two walked across the quad together and into the boys' dorm.

The first sense to start screaming danger was Natalia's sense of smell. Other than underlying smell of sweat that seemed to accompany males everywhere, there was the distinctly sharp note of alcohol, along with the sickly sweet smell of vomit. Natalia felt rather than heard the bass of the music thumping from upstairs. Her eyes began to water at the amount of smoke in the room, and she wondered if she was actually at the party or had accidentally entered a simulation of the destruction of a starship.

"This is supposed to be entertaining?" She yelled to Rachel, who was wide-eyed and already eyeing another cadet who was walking towards them. Natalia rolled her eyes, recognizing him instantly.

"There's the birthday girl!" He managed to yell over the music. "I'm Jim Kirk, your party planner and host for the evening." He flashed her a daring smile, and Natalia rolled her eyes as Rachel melted into a puddle at his feet.

She giggled. "Thanks so much for this."

"Well, we have a party when any of the girls turn 21." He said. "For obvious reasons." He winked, and Natalia was trying her best not to hit him right there.

"I'll leave you two alone." She yelled, before turning to Rachel and yelling in her ear. "You be careful. This is Kirk, after all." She then turned to Jim, who she knew well enough to not care about insulting. "You break her heart, I'll find someone to break your face."

"Duly noted." He said with a smirk.

"Have fun!" Rachel yelled back, and Natalia wasn't sure if she even heard the warning. Shaking her head, she headed deeper into the party, wondering if she would come out alive.

She was wandering for at least ten minutes before she heard a familiar accent.

"There you are." She said, turning around and seeing Chekov coming towards her. "I thought you had been eaten or something."

"No, I've just been looking for you." He said. He was finally next to her, and he looked around before leaning in, his lips just an inch away from her ear. "Is this supposed to be fun?"

She laughed, ignoring the strange tingling feeling that had suddenly erupted in her spine. "I suppose so." She said. "Maybe we're not supposed to understand until we're older."

"Perhaps." He shrugged, scanning around the room again. "I think there are some non-alcoholic drinks over there. I will go get us some."

"Thanks!" She yelled, but by then he had already slithered away through the crowd. She leaned against the wall, deciding that the best thing to do while Chekov was gone would be to people watch.

She saw Rachel in the farthest corner with Jim Kirk. Her friend seemed to be having fun, but she wondered how much that had to do with free will and how much was because of the red plastic cup in her hand.

She has inspected every person in the room twice before she started to worry about Chekov. She looked off in the direction he had gone and saw nothing but a particularly large cadet in her way. Sighing, she moved back against the wall, finding the window ledge. She boosted herself up on it, and could now see over everyone's head. When she finally saw Chekov, her jaw dropped.

He was where he said he would be, but he wasn't alone. Something in Natalia's abdomen caught on fire as she inspected the girl standing next to him. She was tall and thin, her hair a bright white-blonde. She seemed to have shortened her uniform as well, to show off her long, toned legs. Her big blue eyes were rimmed by long, dark lashes, and even from here Natalia could see the sparkle in her eyes and interpret it. What ever this girl was seeing, she liked, and right now her eyes were trained on Chekov.

He look uncomfortable, to say the least. His hands were in his pockets, his shoulders hunched slightly. His eyes were trained on the girl in front of him, though they would occasionally scan the crowd of people. If Natalia had been thinking straight, she would have noticed that he was looking for an escape. She wasn't thinking straight, though. All she saw was this girl, the direct opposite of herself, and the way she looked at Natalia's friend. Feeling the fire extinguish with a sudden crushing wave of despair, Natalia slide off the window sill and hit the ground running.

She tore through the party, not caring who she bumped into or what she sent flying. It wasn't until she was outside that she began to feel better, though the fire had returned in full force. Anger and jealousy flowed through her like venom, and she didn't stop running until she had reached her own dorm room, throwing herself on her bed with a thump and screaming as loud as she could into the pillow.

Again, she was left with difficult emotions, but this time she didn't have Chekov to help he sort them out. She screamed one more time, then stopped to think about what could have changed. Chekov was usually there to comfort her, not the reason she needed comfort. It was a strange switch, one she didn't like.

She sighed, turning onto her back and staring at the ceiling. She wanted to hate Chekov for this sudden mutiny against her, but she couldn't. Even now, she heard him outside the door, punching in the access code to her room. He had finally learned it, though he hadn't used it until she had that bout with the flu and he had kept her sane with soup and crackers.

"Nata?" He asked, sliding into the room. "Are you okay? I saw you leave, and you didn't look good."

She took a deep breath, and sat up. He was leaning against the door frame, his eyes sparkling in the little light that came through the window. She smiled, deciding that maybe Rachel was right, and pushed her hair away from her face.

"I'm fine." She said, moving over and patting the space next to her, welcoming him to sit down. "It was just kind of crowded."

He sat down, smiling now. "Yes, it was." He agreed. "I don't blame you for wanting to escape."

She watched him for a second, and nodded when he suggested they play a game of chess, knowing full well he would slaughter her. She was fine with that. She may not be able to hate Chekov, but she could hate the blonde all she wanted.


	6. Touch Her

**Okay, so here's where things will start to shift, I'm thinking. Before the chapters were coming with at least a few months between them, but starting with either the next one the one after, they will have mere hours between them, as that will start the events of the movie. Also, the chapter titles will start to shift as well, as the emotions involved shift. But anyway, here's the last 'normal' chapter, and then things get really intense. **

* * *

The sixth time he saw Natalia Flores, he wanted to touch her.

The holiday season was fast approaching, meaning the students of Starfleet Academy had been scattered back to their homes for the month of December. For Rachel that meant the family farm in the middle of Kentucky. Natalia was back at her family's home in Barcelona, and Chekov was back in his beloved Russia, amid one of the snowiest winters in years.

While Chekov would never admit to such a thing, there were certain aspects of Russia he wasn't as fond of. As he thought of his friends and their much warmer and drier homes, he was suddenly jealous. He had adjusted to San Francisco's relative warmth, and was now constantly cold. Even his roommate, a hearty Canadian named Tom, was at least ten degrees warmer than him right now. Against his better judgment, he would check the weather every so often to see how his friends were fairing, and always turned off the PADD with a look of disgust. They didn't have feet of snow to deal with.

He had managed two weeks without word from Natalia. He had heard from Rachel, but his best friend still evaded him. He was beginning to worry when one morning his mother came to him, the home video communicator in hand.

"Someone wishes to speak to you." She said, a sly smile on her face. He looked up from his book and took the device from her, wondering who would elicit that reaction from his usually stoic mother. He caught a glimpse of a familiar mane of dark hair as the person ducked out of the screen for a moment, yelling something in a language Chekov didn't know.

"Natalia?" He asked, a smile already forming on his lips.

"Pavel!" She returned to the screen for a moment, her eyes sparkling. There was a far-off crash, and she rolled her eyes. "Hold on. My cousins are here." She set the communicator down and all he could see was blank screen. A few moments later there was another crash, and then a clatter of voices yelling at the same time. He picked out Natalia's, though he didn't know what she was saying.

"Just keep him over there!" She said, coming back into the frame. She smiled sheepishly, letting her hair fall over her face. "Marco thinks he's an alien." She explained, shrugging as though it were nothing to worry about. "He wants to suck out my brain."

"Really?" Chekov raised an eyebrow, pretty sure that this was not typical behavior. Natalia nodded.

"He's four, though, so he's allowed to be a psycho." She shrugged again, smiling gently. "I think his mother can keep him in line for the next few minutes, though. She turned away, looking off-screen. "Oh, good. She showed him the cranberries that still need to be strung." She turned back to the screen, only to be pelted with small red spheres. Chekov started to laugh as Natalia closed her eyes, counting to ten in an effort to control her anger. "Rubina, will come get him please?"

"If you hadn't told him you wanted to be alone, he wouldn't be bothering you so much." A woman of about twenty came into the screen, scooping up a small, dark-haired boy in her arms. The woman, Rubina, must have been Natalia's sister. The two looked at each other with the same eyes, both exasperated. The boy struggled, reaching towards Natalia. She picked up one of the cranberries and flicked it into his hair, and stuck his tongue out at her. Rubina's eyes looked to the communicator, and Chekov had the odd feeling that he was being assessed by those familiar dark eyes. "We'll leave you alone now." The older woman said, turning her gaze to her little sister and smirking. Natalia muttered something in Spanish, which made her sister laugh as she lugged the boy out of the shot.

"I'm sorry." Natalia turned her eyes to the screen, smiling in an embarrassed way. "I thought I had made it clear that I didn't want them around, but they don't always listen to me."

"It's nothing." He shrugged, silently pleased that he had witnessed the exchange. Sometimes he felt as though he didn't know his friend as well as he thought, and any glimpse into her other life was appreciated. "I'm just happy to see you."

"It feels like forever, doesn't it?" She agreed. "We only left California two weeks ago. Rachel said she got a hold of you. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier; we've just been so busy. There is a family down the street that just had a fire, and they lost everything. We've been running around trying to get everything back to normal for them, which isn't as easy as you would think. The younger kids have been here most of the time, playing with my nieces and nephews. It's not bad, but they are just so loud!" She continued to tell him about the efforts of the neighborhood to fix the house and refill it before Christmas Day. He listened, the sound of her voice soothing some fear he hadn't realized he had. She went on for at least ten minutes, when she stopped mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly troubled.

"What's wrong?" He asked, tilting his head and instinctively reaching out, before he realized he couldn't actually touch her.

"I've been talking this whole time." She said, and she was blushing. Chekov was surprised, though he found the rise of color in her cheeks pretty. "I haven't seen you in weeks, and then when I finally get you I talk the whole time."

"I don't mind." He said quickly. "I haven't got much to say. Nothing has really happened to me." She raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "I am being honest. We have been snowed in for several days now. My brothers have been shoveling us out, but they get bored quickly and start snow ball fights instead." She was listening; her head tilted slightly, her eyes a bit wider than normal. He continued talking about his family, something he mentioned rarely at the Academy. She smiled slightly, laughing at the appropriate times and nodding when asked even a rhetorical question. It was a nice conversation, one that could have easily taken place in the library or on the grounds of the Academy.

They came to a lull in the chatter, one that neither felt the need to fill. Chekov gazed at the screen for a moment, getting lost in the picture. Even though he had never been to her home, it was as he had pictured it. The sun was coming in from a window nearby, lighting her up. It reminded him of the warmer days when they would study outside, lying in the grass.

"I miss you." He said suddenly, not sure why he had let those words slip out of his mouth. She looked up, her eyes wide, several emotions swirling beneath them.

"I miss you, too." She said softly, the delicious pink returning to her face. "That's why I didn't want to call, actually." She admitted, suddenly unable to look at him. "I knew I would miss you even more once we hung up."

"My mother wanted me to call you." He said, his tone somewhat guilty. He remembered the sly look with which she handed him the communicator. "She said that I talked about you too much. She is convinced you are my only friend at school."

"So are we!!" A voice suddenly yelled, and the tender moment was broken as Natalia stood up, an angry glint in her eyes.

"Elena, Rubina, get the hell out of here before I throw you out!" She yelled, setting the communicator down and charging out of the screen. There were more crashing noises, and a male voice broke through the clatter, speaking in a commanding tone. Even through the language barrier, Chekov knew he was the patriarch, and was currently displeased with the violence in the house. There was uproar as he came to some sort of decision, and Chekov couldn't identify Natalia's voice from the rest. The man barked something, than addressed Natalia. As she spoke swiftly in her mother tongue, Chekov realized that he couldn't hear her because she hadn't spoken. She was currently using the same tone she used when addressing superiors at Star Fleet. There was more outrage as the man spoke again, but Natalia was suddenly back, her expression calmed.

"I'm sorry." She said, sliding into her seat. "My sisters like to make fun of me. They think they can do whatever they want because they are older. Well, Rubina is older. Elena is a year younger than me. But Papa doesn't like when they act like children. He threatens to send them to Star Fleet with me when they misbehave."

"You were sent to Star Fleet?" Chekov asked. Natalia shook her head.

"I wanted to go." She admitted. "My sisters think I am crazy, though. They would die if they had to go." She laughed slightly, and added in a softer tone. "If Star Fleet would take them. So, what were we talking about before?" She bit her lip gently in thought, and when she remembered, her expression changed, and he thought he saw her blush again. "Oh, right."

"You know, there are only three weeks left in holiday leave." He said, noticing the dip in her mood. "We will see each other soon."

"Yes." She nodded, though not thoroughly convinced. Were he physically able, he would have grabbed her hand, running his thumb in circled along the back of her palm, their fingers intertwined. Even now, his hand was tingling at the thought.

"I should go now." She said suddenly, her eyes refusing to meet his. "We've still got lots to do here."

"Yes, me too." He said, though it was a lie. He hadn't been doing anything beforehand, and he wasn't going to anything once he hung up.

"Bye." She said softly, and terminated the link. He blinked at the blank screen, feeling very empty.

"Goodbye." He said, before turning off the communicator.

***

Three days later, Chekov got a call from Rachel while he was showering. She left him a message, explaining that her family has allowed her to invite some of her friends to the farm for the last week of their leave. It would be easier to get to California from there, and she was personally offended that neither he nor Natalia had ever seen a farm before.

The remaining two weeks passed painfully slow. Even the traveling was too slow for Chekov, and when he finally arrived on the farm (which was far less impressive than Rachel had made him believe), he was practically running to the door. He was let in by a tall man with the same blue eyes that Rachel had, and after quick introductions he was brought into a room filled with blonde people. He blinked a few times, finally able to spot Rachel from the three look-alikes that turned out to be her aunts. And next to her, her dark hair contrasting strongly against all the blonde, was Natalia, rolling her eyes and telling off one of Rachel's younger brothers. Even though he didn't say anything, she looked up suddenly, her head automatically turning to the doorway where he stood.

"Pavel." Her tone was soft, almost in wonder at his appearance. She smiled, and flew across the room, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He returned the gesture, holding her tight against his chest and burying his face into her thick mane of hair. The two remained like that for some time, finally breaking apart and into a loud chatter as they recapped the last two weeks. They sat down on a sofa together, their hands entwined as they caught up.

Rachel elbowed her brother, pointing to the pair. "I told you they liked each other." She said, and her brother nodded, handing over the twenty bucks he now owed her.


	7. Talk to Him

**Hey guys. I'm not as happy with this chapter, since it was very rushed, and written mostly because I needed a bridge between the last chapter and the next one, which starts with assignments on the Enterprise. I like the beginning, but the end is just kind of...blah. But anyway, here it is, and as I promised, the next chapter will start the events of the movie. **

* * *

The seventh time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to talk to him.

It wasn't a want so much as a need, actually. She had been in class, listening to someone talk about their pet back home, when a wave of nausea had flushed over her. She felt woozy, and as soon as she was dismissed she searched out Dr. McCoy, who had become a casual friend after the disaster of Kirk's second attempt at the Kobayashi Maru. She had found him walking across the campus, and walked with him, explaining her symptoms. He listened careful, and answered in an uncharacteristically soft tone.

"Listen kid, physically you're fine." He stopped, placing a hand on her shoulder and staring her down. "You're just homesick."

"No, I'm not." She denied automatically. He raised an eyebrow, and her shoulder slumped. "I shouldn't be. How do I fix it?"

"It's okay." He said. "It's certainly not the end of the world. Just go back to your room, call home if you can, and just let it run its course. You'll be fine." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before letting go and leaving. Natalia sighed, turning the opposite direction and heeding the doctor's orders.

She had almost reached her dorm when she changed her mind. It was nearly midnight in Barcelona, and she couldn't wake her family over something so trivial. She didn't want to go back to her room either, not when it was so beautiful outside. Instead, she reversed directions, heading towards the library.

She smiled when Chekov exited the building, right on schedule. He caught sight of her, and automatically smiled. She returned the gesture, though rather weakly, and she could have sworn his eyebrows knit together for a moment as he approached.

"Nata." He said. Her grin grew slightly, hearing his Russian accent and the nickname that he had chosen. It seemed odd that when she couldn't call home, she would jump to the opposite end of the spectrum.

"Dr. McCoy said I was homesick." She explained. He nodded, raising his eyebrows. "He told me to call home, but it's almost midnight there, and my parents are asleep. My sisters should be, but they are probably sneaking out of the house right now." Her accent, which had slowly faded after three years of English immersion, was returning in full force. Chekov wondered if he was as hard to understand, but found the new rhythm to her voice musical. He slipped his arm through hers, letting her talk as he lead them to shady patch of grass under a tree. "I don't want to wake the little ones either, because you never know when they're with Mama and when they are at their own homes. Sometimes she is just too nice, and takes in all her nieces and nephews." She sighed and sat down. "But anyway, I couldn't call home so I decided that I wanted to talk to you. Go figure."

"It makes sense to me." He said sitting down next to her and leaning against the wide tree trunk.

"Do you ever get homesick?" She asked, still confused on the phrase.

"It's not an actual illness, you know." He said, trying his best not to laugh.

"Yes it is." She argued. "Dr. McCoy said-"

"Dr. McCoy says a lot of things that you know aren't true." Chekov answered, shrugging lightly.

"Yes, but he should know about this." Natalia argued. "He's a doctor."

"Nata." He sighed. "Just trust me. It's not a real illness. You're just lonely."

"Oh." She blinked, and it made sense. She bit her lip gently, and turned back to her friend. "You didn't answer my question."

"Of course I get homesick." He said, watching her hands. She didn't seem to notice their movement, but he did. She seemed to be performing some sort of dance with them, rolling them and making shapes in the air. "Everyone does, even the cadets that live in America."

"How do you get rid of it?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Me?" He asked, and she nodded. "I usually just speak in Russian. Not to anyone in particular." He added, seeing the question forming in her mind. "I just talk myself through whatever I'm doing. It helps." He shrugged, suddenly wishing he hadn't told her. It seemed stupid when he said it out loud.

"I've never heard you speak Russian." She said. "Not seriously, at least. Sometimes you mess up and forget to speak English, but never on purpose."

"You wouldn't understand." He reminded her, but she shook her head.

"It doesn't matter." She smiled. "Let's try something." He didn't say anything, so she continued. "I'm going to say something in Spanish, and I want you to try and figure out what I'm saying."

"You want me to translate a language I don't know?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No." She shook her head. "Don't use the words. You don't know the words. Listen to everything else, though. Trust me, it will work." He wasn't convinced, but he didn't stop her. She thought for a moment, biting her lip in concentration, and then smiled. "Okay, now listen." He did, watching her expression and the way she held herself. Then she started talking, and he felt like he had been hit by a truck. Her mouth moved quickly, the words rushing out in a wave of sound and emotion. She stopped, looking at him expectantly.

"I didn't hear anything." He said, shaking his head.

"Try again." She said. "I'll slow down, too. We tend to speak quickly." She took a deep breath, and this time her voice was less like a truck and more like the wind, floating over to him gently. He heard her voice rise and fall, heard a tenderness in her tone, and the occasional bright note of happiness countered by a few times where she dipped into a place of sadness. Her voice seemed to fade as she ended her speech, and she blinked at him, wondering if he had understood.

"You were talking about a person." He said, trying to remember his observations. "Whoever this is, you loved this person. You must still, but I don't think this person ever loved you. Or else you are far away from this person. Is he back home?" She didn't say anything, just watched him. "You love him, but you are sad, because he can't or won't love you back. You miss him, and he makes you happy." He stopped, opening eyes he hadn't realized he closed. "Who is it?"

"Just a friend back home." She said with a shrug. She smiled, looking up at him through her long eyelashes. "Now it's your turn."

"We never made that deal." He said, looking only slightly disgruntled. If he were being honest, he would have admitted that it was nice to have someone want to listen to him babble in his mother tongue. "Okay, listen closely." He warned. Then he started speaking.

Natalia tried. He was speaking slowly, she could tell that much. His voice fell more than it rose, and his tone was much deeper than it was when he used English. She felt lost, feeling the emotions but not knowing the words. She was reminded of the ocean, of waves not crashing, but simply breaking against the shore.

She hadn't noticed him stop talking until he said her name. She smiled. Even that sounded different from his mouth. He said her name the Russian way, with a "ya" instead of an "e-ah".

"You were talking about a girl." She said. "A girl you like." She kept her eyes lowered, hoping they weren't showing any of the pain these words were causing her. "You really like her. You're comfortable around her. She accepts you as you are, she doesn't try to change you. You want to change, though. She makes you want to be a good person." She was right, something Chekov couldn't believe. He had been talking about her, and she was guessing it right. "She's back home, though. That why you were sad. You miss her." She was wrong. He had been talking about her, and she was sitting right in front of him. The sadness had been because she would never know how much he cared for her. She couldn't know. He wouldn't destroy this perfect friendship.

"Yes." He said, nodding. She had trailed off, her eyes turning to look out at the bay. She was humming now, bobbing her head to the beat. She moved away from the tree, laying down and rolling onto her stomach. He laughed, pulling bits of grass out of her hair.

"You're like a dog, rolling around and not caring what it does to you." He said. She flashed him a bright smile, closing her eyes against the sun sneaking in through the leaves.

"You know, this is kind of ironic." She said suddenly. Chekov raised his eyebrows, and she explained. "I hated you when I first saw you. But now, when I needed home the most, I went to you." She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the ground. "It's just ironic, you know?"

He nodded. He remembered that first physics class. He was smugly proud of himself for catching her mistake. Now he felt guilty. Slowly, as though afraid she would run away, he reached out, brushing her hair with his fingertips. She looked up, and he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. Instinctually, he dropped his hand lower, resting his fingers against her temple as he brushed away her tears with his thumb.

"Gracias." She murmured, and he didn't need a translator.


	8. Stay with Him

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter, and the beginning of the first real adventure. Now, I have a few questions concerning what you actually want to read. What scenes from the movie do you absolutely have to see here? This chapter is more introduction, and I have Kirk's third attempt at the Kobayashi Maru written, but it's rather short. If you want to see it, it could easily fit in as a flashback, but I won't add it unless it's actually wanted. After that, all I have is the immediate aftermath of Vulcan's destruction. So are there any scenes in between or afterwards that you MUST see, let me know, because I'm slighlty unsure of what to include. And, you know, I just love hearing from you guys. **

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The eighth time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to stay with him.

She had known this day would come eventually. After all, the purpose of Starfleet Academy was to prepare for actual service in Starfleet. Such service did happen in space. She knew all this. Still, she was not prepared for this day to come so soon and unexpected.

"We have received a distress call from Vulcan." Admiral Barnett broke through what had started as an inquiry on Kirk's latest attempt at the Kobayashi Maru (an event Natalia was once again present for), and had turned into a verbal brawl between Kirk and Commander Spock. "With our primary fleet currently engaged in the Laurentian system, I hereby order all cadets to hanger one. Dismissed."

Natalia stood with the rest of her row, suddenly fearful. She caught Chekov's eyes as they turned, and followed him out, keeping her pace steady until they had gotten outside. She followed him closely, not wanting to get lost in the crowd, and also hoping with some flawed logic that if she kept him in sight, they would get the same assignment. He turned back, seeing her just a little behind him, and waited. He had grown since their first year, and was now quite a bit taller than her. Then again, she was had only just cleared five feet three inches.

"You don't look well." He said, cutting through what she had thought was her brave face and finding the growing seed of fear underneath.

"I'll be fine." She said, her voice shaking ever so slightly. Chekov caught it, though, and placed a gentle hand at her back, steering her through the crowd of people.

He leaned down, pushing her hair aside and whispered "We both will be fine." She nodded, trying to believe him.

They entered the hanger and found their group, standing at attention as the rest gathered. Natalia was focusing on her breathing, keeping it smooth and even. The names were read, and the third made her miss a breath.

"Chekov- USS Enterprise."

Three more names were read, then the sweetest sound she had ever heard.

"Flores- USS Enterprise."

She continued to focus on her breathing, though it became easier. They were dismissed, and almost instantly, Chekov had his hand at her back again.

"Aren't you a little bit excited?" He asked as the entered the shuttle. "We're going to be on the Enterprise!"

Natalia couldn't help but smile. The new flagship was sure to be the best, and she had heard rumors about the kind of weapons on board, weapons she could only hope to be able to control.

"I am excited." She admitted, her tiny smile greeted by his wide, happy one.

"This is what we left home for." He reminded her. "This is why we have been studying for years." She nodded, her smile not wavering. Still sensing her nerves, he slipped his hand into hers, and their fingers intertwined. She turned her gaze to the window, watching space fly by.

They arrived at the Enterprise quickly, and even Natalia joined in the general humming about the ship.

"It's beautiful." She breathed, her eyes wide. Chekov just nodded, leaning closer to the window.

They were ushered off the shuttle, given brief instructions regarding where to report, and were sent to change. Natalia's fear evaporated in a strange turn of events when she was told to report directly to the bridge.

"Shouldn't you be more nervous?" Chekov asked as they gathered their uniforms.

"I should be." She frowned, unable to explain the fear and the disappearance of it. "Maybe the fear wasn't about coming aboard, but that I wouldn't get the assignment I wanted."

"Or were you afraid of failing again?" He asked. She had told him about her fear of not being good enough, an irrational fear, as being the best was hardly within her reach.

"Maybe." She shook her head, clearing it. "Don't wait for me. I'll be up soon."

"Don't be stupid," he grumbled, watching her take of to change. "With the state she's in, she'll get lost."

True to character, her ignored her instructions and was leaning against the wall next to the turbolift when she was dressed. She was slightly startled by how much older he seemed in his Starfleet uniform, but she ignored it.

"I told you not to wait." She said, tugging at the skirt of her own uniform. She was in operations red, while he was in command gold.

"I never listen to you." He said with a shrug. She tried rolling her eyes, but couldn't. She was silently glad he hadn't listened. He watched her carefully, looking for any sign that she was going to go back to being a basket case. "Are you all right now?" He asked.

"Yes." She smiled. "Minor freak out, but I'm good now." She smiled easily, and he relaxed. She did seem fine now.

The turbolift opened, and the two exchanged a quick smile before stepping out. The bridge was already bustling, other officers taking their posts, and calling out greetings. Chekov immediately found the navigation station and sat down. Natalia hesitated. Her previous experience told her that the tactical station was located behind and right of the captain, but as she looked she recognized the station as that of the science officer. She looked around bewildered for a moment before she heard her name.

"Ensign Flores?" She turned and saw the helmsman looking up at her expectantly. She nodded, unable to find her voice. "Tactical is front and center now." He said, motioning to the large open station between himself and Chekov. "Starfleet decided that with this being the flagship they wanted to be sure nothing happened to it. The tactical station is located between the pilot and navigator so that should there be no tactical officer able to work, the two can override the system and take control without difficutly." He smiled, his dark eyes kind. "So really, you're giving me and the navigator a break."

"Thank you." The bands around his wrist marked him as a lieutenant, and so a rank above her. She took her seat, flashing Chekov a quick smile. She turned back to the helmsman to introduce herself, but then remembered that he already knew her name. She bit her lip for second before he laughed, holding out a hand.

"Hikaru Sulu." He dropped the title, a sure indication that he was still uncomfortable with his rank.

"Natalia." She said simply. She turned back to her station and pulled up the weapons logs, making sure everything was in perfect working order, then set everything on standby until they were about to drop out of warp. There was no need for guns blazing while traveling too fast to hit anything. She then pulled up the latest updates from engineering, reading through exactly what she had at her disposal and how strong the ship really was. The chatter continued until a commanding voice overtook it all.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the maiden voyage of our newest flagship deserves more pomp and circumstance than we can afford today." Captain Christopher Pike entered the room, addressing his bridge crew with command but not cruelty. "A proper christening will have to be our reward for a safe return. Carry on." Captain Pike was an impressive looking man. Natalia had seen him a few times around campus, but had never worked with him. At his command, she returned to her prep work, pleased to see that despite her worst fears, she had been learning the right stuff at the Academy. In fact, she felt at home.

She felt rather than saw the movement to her left, and looked up to meet familiar blue eyes. He spared her a bright smile, reaching over and brushing his hand against hers. She smiled at the gesture, running her index finger down his palm before he returned to his station. With Chekov at her side, anyplace could feel like home.


	9. Hold Him

**Okay everyone, this is the definatly the most anticipated chapter. You all will either love me or hate me by the end, but this is always where I saw it going. I hope you guys like it, and I still need suggestions on what scenes to include pass this point. Hit me up with your thoughts, and enjoy! **

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The ninth time she saw Pavel Chekov, she wanted to hold him.

Her eyes widened at the sight in front of her. She sat at the tactical station alone, Sulu currently falling through space and Chekov down in the transporter room trying to save him. The entire bridge had gone silent as the view screens showed Vulcan shuddering, folding in upon itself.

She turned away, trying to block the memory from her mind. She left the bridge, and no one asked her why, or told her to return to her station. No one was sure who could give orders anymore.

She followed Chekov's path to the transporter room, arriving just in time to see Spock fade out of the room.

"Where is the captain going?" She asked no one in particular. Kirk looked up from his spot against the wall and answered.

"He's going to get the Vulcan High Counsel. Apparently they have some special cave that blocks beaming." McCoy came around with a tricorder, and Kirk flinched away from him.

"That hand looks like crap." She said, glancing down at the mess of blood in his lap.

"Thanks." He still had it in him to roll his eyes. She smiled gently.

She turned to McCoy, who seemed to read her expression with a single glance. "They'll both be fine." He grunted, and she felt a shift in the weight on her shoulders.

Natalia smiled again when she heard someone to her left mumbling in Russian. She placed her hand gently on Chekov's shoulder, careful not to surprise him. He smiled slightly, the only indication that he knew she was there, and kept working. She allowed him, taking her hand back and going to ask Bones if he needed any help. She wasn't ready to go back to the bridge, but she needed to be useful.

"I'm fine." He said, then changed his mind. "Here, hold this." She didn't even look at what he handed her. He would steal it back occasionally, and had just in time for Spock's voice to break through the lull.

"Spock to Enterprise, get us out now."

"Okay, just stay right where you are." Chekov came to life, his hands flying over the screen as he locked on the Vulcans. "Transport in five, four, three, two-" He gasped, and the entire room turned to look at him.

"I'm losing her!" He was screaming, and she saw true panic written across his features. "I'm losing her, I'm losing her, I'm…" He trailed off as five figures appeared on the transporter pad. She counted again, and sure enough, there was one missing.

Only one other face looked more devastated, and she couldn't bear to look at her Captain in that moment. She walked slowly over to the beaming station, where Chekov was staring at the screen, his hands frozen over the controls.

"Come." She whispered, taking his hands in hers. She gently pulled him from the chair, keeping her eyes only on him. The room around her began to move, but not at the pace it had been before the single spot on the transporter had turned up empty. She caught Kirk's eye for just a moment, and he nodded, silently giving her the permission she needed. She ran his arm around her shoulder, wrapping her own around his waist and guiding him to the turbolift. She sent it down to the deck holding the crew quarters. She checked his status from the corner of her eye, and was worried by how wide and blank his bright blue eyes were. She exited the lift, leading him down a short hall, stopping at what she had been told was her door. She entered the code she had been given quickly, pulling him inside and letting the door hiss shut.

"Pavel." Her voice was soft, and when she turned to face him she had tears in her eyes. "Say something."

"I had her." He said, his voice hoarse. "I had her, but I lost her." His eyes suddenly cleared, and he saw her for the first time. His entire expression broke, and he reached for her, his fingers brushing her shoulder. She needed no further encouragement, and she pulled him to her, wrapping her arms around him. He bowed his head, burying his face into the crook of her neck. She felt his breath in short, quick bursts, his tears burning against her skin. He pulled her flush to his body, his arms wrapping around her torso.

"You are not to blame." She said softly. He shook his head slightly, nuzzling her with his nose. He looked up, his eyes meeting hers.

"I am." He said. "I could have saved her. I could have locked on her signal."

"No." She pressed a finger to his lips, forcing him to stop talking. "You couldn't have. I saw it, Pavel. You did have her signal, then she moved, and you didn't have time to regain it. Unless you have figured out how to stop time, you had no control over the situation, which means it is not your fault." Clearly she had already spent too much time around Spock, if she was trying to reason her way through this. She held his face between her hands, staring into those troubled eyes. "You were just as helpless as the rest of us."

He let his forehead meet hers, never breaking eye contact. "You want me to believe that."

"Because it's the truth." She whispered, running her fingers through his curls. He just stared at her for a moment, then closed his eyes, unable to turn his face away. His face was red with guilt and shame, and she felt her own heart breaking. She didn't need to be an empath to understand the emotions swirling around him.

Suddenly he opened his eyes again, the grief not gone but lessened. "You are sure?" He asked. She nodded.

"No one could have saved her." She said softly. His heart rate was still elevated, and he didn't look convinced. "No one is going to blame you, not even Captain Spock. You couldn't do anything for her then. Don't blame yourself when no one else will." He recognized the conviction in her eyes, and wanted to believe she was right. She saw his worry, and couldn't stand it. She lightly brushed her lips against his, wanting only to calm him.

She hadn't been counting on the opposite effect. His heart rate jumped, his body going rigid with shock before he tightened his grip on her, which had been slowly relaxing.

"I'm sorry." She said softly, ducking her face away from his, her forehead against his shoulder. "I didn't mean to-"

"Natalia." She looked up at his voice, which was oddly husky. She had expected him to be angry or upset or some other negative emotion, but to her surprise, he wasn't. His eyes were burning with the same intensity he had when given a particularly good challenge, and just a hint of uncertainty. Slowly, he lowered his face, his nose brushing against hers before their lips met.

She understood with a sudden clarity that his reaction hadn't been negative at all, but simply surprised. She hesitated only a second before tightening her grasp on him, her hands against his neck, in his hair, holding him to her, hell-bent on keeping him close.

She had spent hours wondering what this would feel like, and was pleased to say that she had been entirely wrong. His lips were warm and inviting, shaping to her own effortlessly. He was careful, but not hesitant. He moved slowly, not out of fear, but to savor the moment, both of them committing it to memory. While he wasn't her first kiss, he was the one she cared about, the first time she wanted to remember.

What seemed like a lifetime was really only a few seconds. As they broke the contact, opening their eyes, both were pleased to see the other smiling gently. Chekov lifted one hand, running it through her dark hair slowly.

"How long have you wanted that?" She asked softly. He shrugged.

"Years, maybe." He seemed unconcerned. "It doesn't matter. I was willing to wait."

She was not as calm as he was. "Years? Seriously?" He saw her frustration growing, and raised his eyebrows, silently asking her why. "You mean we could have been doing this earlier, and we weren't?" She asked in a frustrated growl. He laughed lightly, kissing her forehead. "Was it my fault?" She asked.

"No." He moved his lips to her temple, enjoying the small shiver she let escape as his lips brushed gently against her skin. "I wouldn't have ever told you how much I cared unless you had asked me, and you wouldn't have asked because you were afraid of the answer. At least, that's what Rachel has been saying."

"She's known this whole time." She said, absentmindedly running her fingers through his hair. "She was probably taken bets on how long it would take us to figure it out on our own."

"Perhaps." He shrugged, though he couldn't care less. His guilt over losing Amanda Grayson wasn't gone, but the initial pain had found a cure in the girl between his arms.


	10. Kiss Her, Part One

**Sp this was originally one super long chapter, but I didn't like that, so I split it into two parts. Both parts are a little longer than normal, but I figured you would all be okay with that. I just want to thank all of you who review, because you guys are really amazing and make me want to write even more. **

* * *

He had lost count of how many times he had seen Natalia Flores, but this time, he wanted to kiss her.

She was staring at her console screen, running a weapons status check on the ship, her hands shaking slightly. Every now and then she would glance up and over her shoulder at Kirk, now captain, and Chekov could tell by the way she bit her bottom lip that she was still uneasy.

"Captain, Mr. Scott has already started his improvements on the tactical engines." She said, her voice surprisingly steady. "The crews down there have already brought us back to 60% power capacity and the number is climbing, though erratically."

"Ah, well that's good." Scotty, as Kirk had christened him, was still toweling off his head, though he had changed into a Starfleet uniform. "What's your name again?"

"Ensign Flores, sir." She said, reading the new alert on her screen. "Mr. Scott, it seems that one of your engineers needs clarification."

"Ah, damn." He shook his head. "You told me you had a good crew down there, lad." He said to Kirk, taking the earpiece Uhura handed him and starting to argue with the poor man.

Kirk, McCoy, and Sulu were standing towards the back of the bridge, arguing over their next move. Scotty must have cleared up the issue quickly, because as Natalia watched, he returned to the conversation, still running the towel over his head.

Chekov had the ship on autopilot and was at one of the work screens, his pen flying across as he ran through any and every idea that crossed his mind. Natalia saw that the weapons log was set to update every minute, and went over to join her friend. At least, she thought that was what he was. She wasn't quite sure anymore. After their initial time alone, they had returned to the bridge and hadn't gotten a chance to say more than few words, none of which were particularly romantic. He was muttering in Russian when she approached, and only stopped when he caught sight of her from the other side, as she studies his work backwards.

"We are in pursuit." She said softly, and Chekov returned to his work, realizing that she wasn't addressing him directly. "We need to find a way to trick their sensors into not recognizing us, or avoid them all together." She shook her head. "All without knowing what we are actually dealing." She picked up her own pen, and walked around to the other side, looking at one of the ideas that had been moved aside. "Do you mind if-?" She started quietly, but Chekov shook his head, instantly making a separator that would split the board in two and allow them to work independently. She opened the box up, looking through a long list of equations and whispering to herself in Spanish. The two worked side by side for quite a while, the two languages curling around each other into a one solid screen of sound. Natalia was the first to break the pattern.

"You've got something here." She was nearing the end of his original thoughts, and crossing something out. "About magnetic fields. You miscalculated, though. You copied the wrong answer for the trajectory of the Romulan ship." She showed him where he had found the path, then what he had written in, and sure enough they were two different results. She wrote in the correct response, and recalculated the rest of the equations. "See the difference?" He nodded, watching as she pulled a few things into place.

"So the Romulan vessel is now much closer to Saturn than I expected." Chekov reached up and opened another box that he had rejected, adding the new information and smiling slowly.

"With the Romulans passing by Saturn, it would be easy to position the ship behind one of the planet's satellites and use the magnetic properties created by the rings to disguise us from the Narada." Natalia said, looking at his diagrams and equations. She looked at Chekov, who was staring at her, eyes wide. "Am I wrong?"

"No." He shook his head, and gently kissed her cheek. "You're very right." He lingered for a just a moment, his hand at her waist, before running off, calling for Kirk.

"Yes, what is it Chekov?" Kirk had quickly become familiar with the crew, and knew everyone's name by then.

"Sir, we've got something." Natalia said, joined him.

"Based on the Narada's course from Vulcan," Chekov started. "We have projected the Nero will travel pass Saturn."

"Like you said, we need to stay invisible to Nero, or he'll destroy us." Natalia said, locking her gaze on Kirk.

"If Mr. Scott can get us to warp 4, and if we can drop out of warp behind one of Saturn's moons, say, Titan, the magnetic distortion from the planets rings will make invisible to Nero's sensors." Chekov explained.

"From there, as long as the drill is not activated, we can beam aboard the enemy ship." Natalia finished.

"Aye, that might work." Scotty was nodding appreciatively at the pair. There was a moment of silence as everyone went over the plan, looking for flaws.

"Wait a minute." McCoy broke the silence, looking at the pair with a skeptical expression. "How old are you two?"

"Seventeen, sir." The pair answered together.

"Oh, good." McCoy clearly wasn't impressed. "The wonder twins are seventeen, Jim."

"With all due respect, Doctor." Natalia said, locking her gaze on McCoy, who accepted her unspoken challenge. "Just because we are young doesn't mean we are stupid and certainly doesn't mean we are wrong." McCoy kept his gaze for a bit, and then something in his eyes changed. What had been speculation turned to a strange sort of reluctant respect.

"Doctor." Natalia spun on her heel, surprised to see Spock standing in the entrance of the turbolift. He had disappeared soon after resigning as captain, and she hadn't expected him to come back at all. "Mr. Chekov and Ms. Flores are correct." If she hadn't been surprised before, she would surely be shocked now. He stepped forward, approaching the collection of officers. "I can confirm their telemetry. If Mr. Sulu is able to maneuver us into position I can beam aboard Nero's ship, steal back the black hole device and if possible bring back Captain Pike." Natalia inspected him as he spoke, trying to get under his skin again. She had seen with her own eyes that he did indeed have emotions, and now she was determined to see that he had them all the time. As she watched, she saw something in his eyes that hadn't been there before. It looked like a streak of resolve, not unlike the one that was in the startling blue eyes of her current captain.

Kirk blinked, giving him a second to think. "I won't allow you to do that, Mr. Spock."

"Romulans and Vulcans share a common ancestry. Our cultural similarities will make it easier for me to access the ship's computer to locate the device." He paused, and the streak of resolve flickered, growing brighter. "Also, my mother was human, making Earth the only home I have left." There was a flicker though the group, and Kirk took a step forward.

"I'm coming with you." He announced.

Spock raised an eyebrow. "I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it." Natalia could have sworn the ghost of a smile flickered across his face.

Kirk gave a slight laugh. "See? We are getting to know each other." Kirk gave Spock a clap on the shoulder, causing the Vulcan to raise his eyebrow again, confusion and surprise flashing across his eyes. Natalia let out the smallest of laughs, which did not escape his notice. She averted her gaze, looking down at the floor, unable to pull the smirk from her lips.

"Scotty, I need you back down with the engines, see if we've got enough juice for warp four." Kirk said, rounding the corner and going back to the command chair. "Then I want you in the transporter room, ready to beam Mr. Spock and me onboard. Chekov, plot our course, making sure that we are above Titan."

"Captain, Titan has a dense atmosphere." Natalia said, making her way back to her station. "We should avoid entering too deep."

"Make sure that happens, then." He said. "Sulu, get ready for Scotty's okay. He'll let us know when she's ready."

It didn't take long for the Enterprise to be ready. Natalia set everything to standby again, ready to go with a few quick commands should the need arise. The Enterprise was in warp before Natalia could blink, and before long, she heard Sulu warn the crew of the approaching stop.

"All stop in three…two…one." Sulu counted down, and on three they appeared in Titan's atmosphere. "Give me one quarter impulse burst for five seconds. I'll do the rest with thrusters. On my mark." He said, sliding his gaze to Chekov, who nodded slightly.

"Aye." He said softly, his hands moving over the controls in a steady manner. Slowly, Sulu steered them out of the cloud matter, positioning the starship just above Titan's atmosphere.

"Transporter room, we are in position above Titan." Sulu said into the intercom system.

"Really?" Natalia smiled lightly as Scotty's voice came through the speakers. "Fine job Mr. Sulu, well done." The chatter continued as Kirk's voice came over the speakers.

"Whatever happens Mr. Sulu, if you think we have the tactical advantage, you fire on that ship even if we're still on board. That's an order."

He turned to Natalia, who looked up at the view screens, her eyes focusing intently on a spot in the dark around them, as though she could see the enemy ship. She looked back, and Sulu saw a hard wall of determination fall over her dark eyes. She nodded, silently letting him know that she was ready.

"Yes sir." He answered.

"Otherwise, we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to be beamed back." Kirk continued, his voice sounding much older than it should.

"Good luck." Sulu said, and the link was terminated. There was a deep sigh from somewhere, as the bridge was left alone, waiting.


	11. Kiss Her, Part Two

**So the action wraps up here in part two of the giant chapter of doom. There's a little bit of language in this chapter, a few Spanish swears I learned from grandmother, who forgets that I don't know the language like she does. I usually have to either ask one of the Spanish teachers at school, or if I'm out of school, like now, find a translator online, which I don't entirely trust. You'd think I would have a better grasp on the language, since I've been studying it for ten years. We started learning Spanish in the third grade, and I still suck at it. But oh well. You didn't need to hear about that. Anyway, here's the rest of the adventure, then we get to explore what happens afterwards. And I'm still, as always, taking ideas and suggestions. **

* * *

Natalia had both her Captain and Spock onscreen, monitoring everything from heart rate to charge of their phasers. She wasn't going to lose them, not unless-

"They have activated they drill." Chekov said, his voice breaking the silence. Natalia's jaw dropped as her screen flickered, then went blank.

"_Maldita sea_." She shook her head, not noticing the language slip as she punched in every combination she could think of.

"Communication and transport are inoperative." Uhura burst back into the room. "Sulu, please tell me you have them, otherwise we won't be able to beam them back."

Sulu shook his head, turning to Natalia, who also shook her head. "Kirk and Spock are on their own now." He said.

"There is no way to disable the drill from here." Natalia said, still frantically looking for a way to fix the problem. Finally, she leaned back in her chair, removing her hands from the controls. "We just have to wait." She turned to Sulu. "Right?"

He nodded. His dark eyes were watching her every move, and he slid his chair towards her, casting a glance around the room before addressing her. "Flores, are sure you can handle this?"

She bit her lip. She had been trying to hide all of her insecurity, all of the little things in her mind telling her that she wasn't ready for this. And yet, Sulu saw right through it. But she knew better. No matter what, she knew where her place was.

"Lieutenant, I have never been more sure of something in my life." She said, looking him square in the eye. "If I felt I could not handle this mission, I would gladly turn the controls over to you and Mr. Chekov. However, I have been training for this for three years, and while nothing prepares you for the situation where you must fire upon your captain and commanding officer, I must say that the last ten hours have been more than enough training on how to handle difficult situations."

He nodded, and smiled lightly. "Just making sure, Natalia." He turned back to his station, dropping the subject. She just raised an eyebrow and turned back to her own screen.

"Chekov, will you know if they deactivate the drill?" She asked.

"Of course." He nodded. She set her computer to automatically search out their signals and disabled the alert that signified the signal could not be found.

"Only good news." She mumbled to herself.

The bridge was quiet, almost deathly so, until there was a chime from Natalia's and Chekov's stations.

"The drill has been deactivated." He said.

"I have Kirk and Spock." She said, her hands flying across the screen. "Spock is…in space." She pulled him up first, studying the information streaming in. "He's in some sort of ship. Heart rate is elevated, but he's fine." She then turned her attention to Kirk, wincing slightly. "Kirk isn't fairing so well. He's not dead, though he has taken a beating."

"Typical." Uhura said as she connected with their frequencies. "Spock's line is silent, and there is too much background to get anything from Kirk. It all sounds like machinery."

"He's still in the enemy ship." Natalia confirmed. She watched the screen, her eyes growing wide. "Spock just jumped to warp."

"What is he doing?" Sulu asked, more in wonder.

"The Narada is following." Chekov confirmed.

"I'm picking up another signal." Natalia said. She opened the section, her eyes widening. "Captain Pike is alive but badly injured. He's aboard the Narada." She turned to Sulu, who was suddenly very busy at his controls. "What are we doing?"

"Following orders." He said. "We're pursuing the Narada. With the drill disabled and Spock leading them away from Earth, this is our moment to eliminate the threat." He turned to his intercom, pressing the correct button. "Mr. Scott, can you lock onto the signals of Spock, Kirk, and Pike?"

"I dunno." Scotty yelled back. "Three people onto one pad from three different locations is a bit new for me. I'm giving it a shot, though."

"Good." Sulu turned to Natalia, who had already traded her signals of those aboard for the weapons menu. "We are going to jump to warp. Chekov, do you have a pursuit course."

"Yes sir." He performed one final command. "Course locked, sir. Warp four on your command."

"Flores, we need to come out of warp blazing." He said. "I want full photon volleys. Don't play around with this, we may not have enough time."

"Yes, sir." She set everything up, leaving just the final command. "Fire on your command."

"Don't wait for a command." He said, sending them to warp. "When we drop out of warp, the moment I say one, fire all."

"Yes sir." She waited, tense. They were not in warp long.

"Get ready, Flores." Sulu said, watching his own commands. "End warp in three…two…one."

In one graceful move, Natalia fired all the photon torpedoes, just as the Narada appeared in front of them. Her hands dancing across the screen, she armed and fired again, this time at the volley of enemy torpedoes she saw closing in on the unfamiliar ship that held Spock.

"Cease fire, Flores." Sulu said, steering them below the Narada. "Mr. Scott, do you have their signals?"

"I'm pretty sure I do." He said, and from his tone he would be successful. "Locking now."

Sulu switched channels. "Dr. McCoy, get a team together and head to the transporter room. Captain Pike is coming in." He didn't wait for an answer, instead going back to Scotty. "Mr. Scott, do you have them?"

"In about four seconds." He said, and there was the hum of the beaming and whoop of joy.

"Nice timing, Scotty." Kirk's voice came over the speakers, and the bridge visibly relaxed slightly.

"I've never beamed three people from two locations onto one pad before!" Scotty said, still laughing with joy and relief. "That was pretty good!"

"Good job, Mr. Scott." Sulu said.

"Thanks man." He said. "The captain and Spock are headed your way. Pike has gone to medical."

"Thanks." He said. Barely a minute had gone by when the turbo lift opened, and Spock and Kirk stepped out.

Natalia turned, a hint of smile on her face. "Captain, the enemy ship is losing power. Their shields are down."

"Hail them now." Kirk ordered, he and Spock moving to stand in front of the console.

Natalia watched as Nero's face flickered into life on the front view screen. "This is James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." Kirk began. "Your ship is compromised. You are too close to the singularity to survive without assistance, which we are willing to provide."

There was a pause, and when Spock turn around Natalia caught a glimmer of conflict in his eyes. "Captain, what are you doing?" He said, soft enough not to be picked up by Nero.

"Showing compassion may be the only way to make peace with Romulus. It's logic, Spock, I thought you'd like that." Kirk was just as quiet, and for once not terribly expressive in the face. Both knew that Nero was still watching, and Natalia had to look at everything else just to avoid him.

"No, not really." Spock said, with the slightest tilt of his head. "Not this time."

Their conversation was cut short as Nero spoke. "I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony, than accept assistance from you." Natalia couldn't help but roll her eyes, despite the serious situation. Who knew Romulans were such drama queens?

"You got it." Kirk said, turning away from the screen. "Flores, arm phasers, fire everything we've got."

"Yes sir." Natalia said, half her job already done. She punched in the last command and suddenly the sky was alight with red. The destruction was quite beautiful, in a way. The black hole was growing, sucking in the Romulan vessel as the phasers destroyed the ship. Natalia kept a steady volley, as the metal shattered, only to be pulled deeper into the darkness.

"Sulu, let's go home." Kirk order from his command chair just a warning flashed across the screen.

"_Mierda_." Natalia swore under her breath as he watched Sulu go to warp with no visible results.

"Why aren't we at warp?" Kirk asked.

"We are, sir." Chekov said.

"The black hole's pull is too strong." Natalia added.

"Kirk to Engineering. Get us out of here, Scotty." Kirk ordered.

"You bet your ass, Captain." His voice said over the speaker. Natalia turned around, hoping to see someone looking a little more confident that she was. There wasn't one. Even Spock had lowered his eyebrows.

"Go to maximum warp!" Kirk said.

"I'm giving her all she's got!" Scotty responded. A snapping noise echoed across the bridge as something began breaking. All eyes found the cracks as they worked their away across the ceiling. Suddenly Natalia felt warm skin against her hand, and she looked down to see her hand entwined with Chekov's. He didn't look at her, his wide eyes still on the ceiling, but she understood the gesture.

"All she's got isn't good enough." Kirk yelled, not pausing to register some of the more terrified expressions. "What else you got?"

"Uh…" Scotty paused, but not for long. "If we eject the core, and detonate, the blast could be enough to push us away. I can't promise anything, though."

The bridge gave way to more cracks, a few cutting across the view screen that still displayed the warning.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" Kirk yelled. There was a slight disturbance as the cores were launched, and then came the blast.

Natalia watched it from the front screen, a growing ball of white-blue light. It approached the Enterprise, at first gently buffeting the ship, then hitting full force. Everyone was pushed back against their chair as the ship was pushed out with enough force to escape the gravitation pull of the black hole. There was a moment when the ship was finally moving forward of her own accord that was silent. Then, Kirk broke the silence with a small, exhausted laugh. Soon the rest of the bridge (except for Spock) had joined him.

Natalia slid slightly to her right as she felt Chekov pull on her hand. She looked up and saw him touch her fingertips to his lips for the briefest of moments before letting go. She knew that literally was the smallest of gestures he could perform in that moment, and yet she knew that was far from the gesture he wanted to perform.


	12. Lay with Him

**Wow!! This story is officially my most reviewed EVER!!! Actually, it's my most reviewed, alerted, and favorited. That's huge to me!! I never thought anyone would even read this, never the less take time to make their appreciation shown. I'm floored. I seriously need to thank all of you for being so completely amazing. **

**Now, after all that excitement, I need to do a bit of housekeeping. I'm phasing out the original opening line. It's becoming a little cumbersome, and that's one thing I never wanted this story to be. The chapter titles will continue in a similar fashion, though, so as not to disrupt that flow. Also, I've hit a bit of a block. I want to write a proper date for Natalia and Chekov, but find myself at a complete loss as to what to have them do. So I want to hear from you guys what you think their perfect date should be. It can be as cute or as weird as you want it to be, just so long as they aren't doing anything too illegal. Remember, they are only seventeen. **

**But anyway, here's the official chapter eleven. It kind of wraps everything up from the last few, and may be followed by one more that is around the events of the movie. I haven't quite decided if I am going to write anything for graduation or not. But anyway, her'es the chapter, and thanks for being so amazing!!!!  
**

* * *

Natalia had expected a nice rest when she finally returned from the Enterprise, a few days of solid sleep and some real food, to start. She was sorely disappointed.

Her first stop was to Medical, where a man she had never seen before ran a quick check of her basic functions, making sure she hadn't caught a space disease that was eating her brain. She understood that step. What she found annoying and unnecessary were the hours spent in interrogation rooms as Starfleet tried to figure out how three different men had been captain of the new flagship in a span of twelve hours. After repeating the same story four times, she was released, with just a gruff word to take care of herself. She rolled her eyes, and had she not been so damn tired, she would have informed them that he plans had revolved around that idea, and it was them and their stupid questions that had made that so difficult. Still, it hurt to even think that much, so she didn't chance the effort to say it, and started wandering through the building, gathering her bearings.

She found the mess hall, exactly where it had been, thankfully buzzing with activity. It seems she wasn't the only one hungry, and she looked around she saw that the majority were Enterprise crew. Her first stop was the food counter, where she took whatever they gave her. She wasn't about to be picky. Grabbing her tray, she turned, and made a beeline towards the first familiar face.

"Natalia!" Sulu waved her over, and she smiled, taking a seat across from him. "You look dead on your feet."

"Pot calling the kettle black." She said, and he smiled. None of them looked particularly well, and it wasn't long before their table of two had grown to include Scotty and a few other engineers, Uhura, and even McCoy and Kirk showed up. One person was noticeably missing, but Natalia pushed it aside, trying her best not to worry. When she heard her name being called by a voice she didn't expect to hear again, it became much easier.

"Natalia, there's someone over there calling for you." Uhura looked up and over the younger woman's head.

"I heard." Natalia stood up, not quite realizing what she was doing. She turned, and despite a few cuts and scrapes, she saw that Rachel was unharmed.

"I thought you were dead." Rachel said softly, her hand shaking in front of her face.

"Same here." Natalia started walking, not of her own accord. The two friends were barely a foot apart now when the spell was broken. The hugged each other tightly, tears springing up instantly. They were both talking at once, catching just part of the conversation.

"I didn't know where you had been assigned."

"The other ships didn't make it."

"I should have just asked."

"Wait." Natalia shook her head, wondering what was happening. "Where were you assigned?"

"The Enterprise, silly." Rachel explained. "I was down in Medical the whole time. We were quite busy, after all."

"You were there and I didn't know it?" Natalia shook her head, a little confused.

"I didn't know you were there either." She said. "I had heard Chekov do the announcement, but I didn't know that you were with him. I mean, I hoped you were, but there was no way to be sure. I should have asked Dr. McCoy. He was on and off the bridge enough."

"I thought you had died." Natalia said, and Rachel laughed, grabbing her friends arm and steering her back to the table.

"Well, I haven't, so stop worry and eat something. You look like death warmed over." She forcefully pushed Natalia back into her chair, and the young woman stared at her food as though she had never seen it before.

"Ms. Downing." McCoy was the only one who knew the new arrival, and he greeted her. His voice seemed to wake something up in Natalia, and she rounded on the doctor, her eyes blazing.

"You could have told me she was safe the whole time." She said, and even McCoy looked slightly nervous at the ferocity she was staring at him with.

"What, me?" He raised his eyebrows. "I didn't even know that she was your friend." He paused, as if something had hit him. "Oh, wait. I did, didn't I?"

Natalia nodded. "We were practically glued together here, and you had lunch with us more than once, Bones."

"It slipped my mind." He shrugged, though he did let mild concern show. "I'm sorry, Nata. I would have if I remembered."

She froze at the nickname, the worry she had been trying to avoid suddenly flooding her. She turned her anxious gaze to every possible entrance, and found them all still. She ran a shaking hand through her hair, her eyes looking everywhere, and coming up empty. Rachel watched her, and shook her head.

"He'll be here." She said softly. Natalia nodded, not believing her.

"Chekov?" Sulu asked, and Rachel nodded. The two exchanged a quick look in which Rachel tried to convey how deep their relationship was.

"I just want to see him." She said, her mind running over what had happened in the day, and how she needed him now.

"So you're finally admitting that." Rachel said to herself, earning a few odd looks from the rest of the crew.

"Yes." She snapped. Rachel looked worried now, and took her friend's hand. Natalia shook her head, instantly guilty. "I'm sorry." She said. "I didn't meant that. I'm just worried."

"He's fine." Uhura said from Natalia's other side. "You saw him get off the shuttle. Nothing could happen to him between then and now."

"I know." Natalia nodded. "I just…don't believe." Uhura nodded. Natalia sighed, and returned her attention to the soup she had been given. It was simple and very satisfying, so she concentrated on eating with everything she could. The table around her began to buzz with conversation again, and she worked on every spoonful, slowly feeling her body mellow out with the help of nutrients. She was so absorbed eating, she didn't notice as the chatter died out, and everyone turned to look at her. Finally, she looked up, and jumped back slightly with surprise.

"Yes, can I help you?" She asked, regaining her sarcasm quickly.

"Turn around." Rachel said softly.

"Why?" Natalia said, but turned…

Her eyes landed on the most perfect sight she had seen. Chekov was standing just a foot behind her, looking tired but otherwise whole. His blue eyes found her brown ones as she turned, and she watched as thousands of emotions swam through them, trying to tell her everything he couldn't say out loud. She stood slowly, and suddenly his hands were in hers, pulling her towards him. In the next second he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him, and she buried her face in his chest. She held onto him, her breathing erratic but slowly calming.

"Well, that's new." Rachel said softly.

"Where were you?" Natalia found her voice, and she lifter her head, finding his eyes.

He shrugged gently, a smile playing at his lips. "Apparently I am so difficult to understand, they needed me to type out my story." He explained. "Only after I had told them four times."

She laughed, more out of relief than actually amusement. She ran a hand over his shoulders, letting his presence calm her.

He kissed her cheek gently, moving to her ear to whisper. "Come with me."

"You need to eat." She argued, her maternal instincts kicking in. "Your body is spent."

"They feed me while I was typing." He said, his lips brushing against the sensitive spot under her earlobe. "Please, Nata. I need to know you are fine."

She melted at his tone and the way his lips tickled her gently. She nodded, disentangling herself just long enough to grab her tray from the table, ignoring the looks she received from the rest of her companions.

"See you guys later." She said, a bright smile at her lips. She ignored the shock from her crewmates and headed towards the door, stopping only to get rid of her tray. Chekov linked his hand through hers, and together they walked across the campus and to her dorm room. Her access code was in quickly, and the door had barely closed when his lips found hers.

She was caught in his arms, between his body and the door. This time he wasn't hesitant, but anxious. His lips were firmer, his movements quicker, as he allowed every urge he had repressed while they were on the bridge finally escape him. She pulled him closer, every touch reminding her that he was here and whole. Her fingers danced across his shoulders, snaking into his curls. When they finally separated for air, she took his hand, leading him to her bed. She saw anxiety cross his eyes, and she smiled gently.

"I just need you to hold me right now." She said. "I'm tired, and I won't be able to sleep unless you're here with me."

He nodded, understanding. He lay down next to her, their noses just barely touching. He took her hand, lifting it to his face and kissing the inside of her wrist. She shivered, moving in closer. He wrapped his arms around her, his lips touching her forehead as she drifted off to sleep.


	13. See Him Part One

**First off, I am so sorry!!!! I haven't posted a new chapter in weeks, and I feel terrible. I could come up with a bunch of excuses, but the real reason is quite entertaining/weird. I had the opposite of writer's block, but it was equally horrifying. I wrote like, ten chapters, only to decide that none of them would work, and I hated them all. Oh, let me tell you, it was frustrating. And then I got a new computer, which was not frustrating until I tried to import the old documents onto it, and the thing flipped out on me. So really, this chapter is far too long coming. I apologize for the wait, and hope this chapter makes up for it. **

**Now, just a bit of housekeeping. This is the first of a multi-chaptered arch, as you will see. Don't worry, I will finish. I'm really excited about this, because it not only allows me to explore some more action/adventure type stuff, but it also lets me play with the other characters as well. On that note, Spock is probably horribly OOC in this. I blame it on the situation, though that is a terrible excuse. I apologize, and feel free to tell me what went wrong.**

**Fun fact: I wrote this entire chapter listening to one song on repeat. "Whoa Oh!' from Forever the Sickest Kids. The one with Selena Gomez. Yeah, I'm that cool.  
**

**Anywho, enjoy this chapter, and I'm sorry for the wait and lack of Chekov in this one. He'll be back, I promise. There is nothing that can keep a Russian down.  
**

* * *

Natalia couldn't feel anything. There was something hard under her, but that was all she knew. Her entire body was numb and cold. The cold. That was what woke her. The searing pain as it hit her arms and legs. She tried to take a deep breath, and the air attacked her lungs, thrusting sharp pinpoints into the delicate tissue. She coughed, and this time the pain wracked through her torso, a dull aching pain, quite different from that caused by the cold. Finally, after sputtering for a full minute, she opened her eyes, almost afraid of what she would see.

It could have been worse, she supposed. At least she wasn't restrained. She was lying on a cold metal floor, surrounded by several bars, in what seemed to be an archaic looking brig. She retained enough energy to roll her eyes as the rust and filth. Looked someone had been watching a few too many 20th century gangster movies. Slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position, and to her immense joy her head did not spin. She pulled her knees to her chest, her bare legs covered in goose bumps. She looked as far past the bars as she could, but saw nothing other than walls and a single doorway, leading down an equally dirty and damp looking corridor. She inspected the lock on the bars, and sound the one sign that she was indeed in the 23rd century. The locks was small and sleek, but completely impenetrably. She assumed there was some sort of keypad on the other side, though she couldn't see it. She shivered again, wondering why it was so damn cold.

Natalia was a few moments from sleep when she was jolted out of the stupor by the sound of heavy boots approaching. She opened her eyes, and something closer to a mountain than a man coming towards her cell. He didn't say anything to her, just opened the door and held it. She waited for a command, but it never came. Instead, he reached one thick arm in and pulled her out by her shoulder. She bit her lip against the pain, but straightened herself as he closed the door.

He was certainly humanoid, walking on two legs and gripping her with one arm while the other swung loosely at his side. His face was obscured by a thick yellow hair, coming from both the top of his head and his chin. She did catch a prominent nose as they passed by a more brightly lit hall, but then turned her eyes to a forward position.

He stopped before a large door, and typed in a final keycode that made the door swing open silently. He pushed her ahead of him, and jabbed her in the back to keep her moving. Natalia followed his prodding, moving a straight line through what seemed to be a communications room. Most of the terminals were empty, though there was a bright light coming from the very back of the room. As she approached, she saw her initial captor, the face she had seen before she had been rendered unconscious.

It was the face one would expect. The woman was young, only a little older than Natalia herself. She was either Romulan or Vulcan, as her eyebrows swept up and a way from her face. Though, Natalia reminded her, there certainly weren't enough Vulcans left to have them running around terrorizing Starfleet. The enemy was very pretty, her dark eyes sparkling with what could be mistaken as humor, but Natalia was beginning to understand as pure evil. Her shocking red hair was cut into a short, sharp bob, the left side three inches longer than the right. When she spoke, her voice was almost musical, though containing a sinister note.

"It seems the Vulcan was given time to return to the ship." Natalia did not show her joy that Spock had managed to get away. She kept her mouth in a hard line as the woman addressed her. "Your crew has already began searching for you, Ms Flores." Well, there went her plan on not telling t hem who she was. "They have been out it for two days, and I think it is time that we fuel their waning hope." She smiled, though it wasn't a comforting gesture, and turned to the communication station. Natalia quickly recovered from the mental shock of learning she had been out for two days, and watched the woman work. Her fingers were quick and sure, and she did not second guess any of her commands. Natalia could practically hear Uhura's voice cutting through whatever chatter was going on at the bridge. _"We're being hailed, Captain" _Even though the voice was only in her mind, it was a comfort. Uhura, at least, would be keeping a look-out for her.

"We have your missing Ensign." The female said softly, and the sound made shivers crawl up Natalia's spine. She imagined the flurry of activity, and again, heard a voice in her head that was an odd comfort.

"_Front screen, Lieutenant." _Kirk barked in her mind.

No sooner had the voice died than the large screen on the wall in front of the group of three flickered to life, and Natalia gasped at the scene laid out in front of her. It was the bridge of the Enterprise, as pristine as she had left it, save for the empty tactical seat in the dead center of the screen. She barely got a chance to see it before being shoved away, out of the screen. It only took the giant man one arm to fully restrain her while he stood at the edge of the viewing space, giving the tall woman the center spot.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." Natalia's heart pounded loudly at the sound of his voice, easily the most comforting this she had heard in her life. "We understand you have something that belongs to us."

"Ah, so it is the infamous Captain Kirk." The woman seemed pleased, and when she smiled again, it was softer, more alluring. Natalia instinctively rolled her eyes, despite the situation. Was there a woman out there that Kirk couldn't charm? "I have heard of you and your little miracle crew." She continued. "I did not believe the stories, I must admit, until I saw Ms. Flores. She is indeed a youngling, and yet so very bright. She is a fighter as well. She almost had the upper hand at one point during our little chat. But, I must say, it was that mouth of hers that got her in trouble." The woman sent Natalia a glare. "She certainly went down swinging. She probably is still feeling the damage as well, after two days." Her full attention was turned to Natalia now. "Are you still in pain, _mija_?"

Natalia pushed against the wall, trying to launch herself at the woman. The familiarity stung when said in such a sarcastic tone, and her blood was now boiling. Unfortunately, she did not make it very far, as a huge arm caught her around the middle, effectively holding her up and off the ground. She kicked out, crying out in frustration when she missed.

"Let me down you flippin' man mountain!" She yelled, trying her best to inflict some kind of damage on him. He did not let go, though, and did not seem at all phased by her struggles.

"There's that mouth." The woman sighed, shaking her head in a condescending manner. "She is incredibly feisty, I will give her that."

"Why did you contact us?" Kirk asked.

"I thought you want to know that your precious prodigy was alive and in fairly good condition." The red-head laughed, raising a finger and coaxing the younger woman forward. "Come here, Miss Natalia. Report to your Captain like a good girl."

The man-mountain released her, and after picking herself up off the ground, she walked to the woman, her shoulders back and her head high. There was an audible gasp as she appeared in the screen, and when she finally dared to turn back, she saw that every member of the crew wore a different expression.

Spock, of course, was neutral, though there was a spark in his eyes when Natalia looked up at him. He stood just to the right of Kirk, who was dead center, standing between the command chair and the empty tactical station. Kirk tried his best to follow Spock's example and keep his face clear, but Natalia caught the smallest of smiles cross his face in relief as he saw her standing at attention. Sulu and Uhura wore nearly identical expressions of mixed relief and worry, though from the way his eyes darted back down to his view screen every so often, Natalia knew Sulu was already a step ahead, trying to figure how to get her back. Finally, she turned to Chekov, and had to stiffen her position even more to keep from breaking her stance. He was staring at her in disbelief, struggling not only to believe that she was there, but to keep his expression from betraying how desperate he was to have her back.

"It is rude to stare, Ensign Flores." The woman behind her snarled, capturing her upper arm between long red fingernails.

"Captain Kirk." Natalia nodded once, keeping her voice steady. "As you can clearly see, I am being held captive on a ship of unknown size and origin."

"She is fine for the time being." The woman said, cutting her off. "She has yet to serve her purpose, and so I have yet to do any serious damage to her."

"Serious damage?" The voice of Dr. McCoy came from somewhere to Kirk's left. "The entire right side of her face is a bruise!"

"It is?" Natalia reached up with her free hand and touched her face gently, wincing at the sensation. Not a moment later and the woman released her grasp just to throw her fist in Natalia's face. There was a muffled gasp of horror, and when Natalia finally blinked her eyes open, she saw that everyone but Kirk and Spock wore the same look of badly suppressed revulsion.

"She is still functioning, is she not?" The woman's voice had dipped dangerously low. "You have seen that she is alive and you have seen the treatment she will get for every mistake made. We will contact you when we are ready to agree on terms for her return. And remember, it is not just her mistake that we will be counting, Captain Kirk." With that, she terminated the link.

Natalia stared at the blank screen, not tearing away her gaze until the woman shoved her back towards her guard.

"Take her back to her cell." The woman snarled. She reached down and roughly grabbed Natalia's face between her thumb and forefinger. "Rest up, sweetheart, because you will be working hard in the morning."

Natalia bit back the retort, and allowed herself to be half-dragged back to the cold cell she was really starting to hate. She sighed as the door clinked shut and man-mountain lumbered away. She leaned against the far wall, letting her head fall to her shoulder. There was nothing she could do here, and so she followed the advice of the evil, evil woman and fell fast asleep.

***

_Her chest pounded as she ran, needing to take three strides to every one of Spock's. He was not impatient, though, and he urged her on as quietly as he could. They were being followed by at least two people, and if the weapons fired at them earlier were any indication, they were not friendly individuals. _

_No sooner had the two burst forth from the cave and into the bright sunlight than Spock was yelling into his communicator._

"_Spock to Enterprise, get us out of here!" _

_Natalia had her phaser out, pointed at the cave where they had just emerged from. Spock covered what was behind her, which didn't look like more than brush and sand. The two had beamed down to the planet for what had been a simple enough task of delivering supplies and fixing a malfunctioning translating system at the Starfleet outpost on the planet. It was such a simple mission that Kirk had opted out, deciding that Spock and Natalia were enough. No sooner had they beamed down, though, than they were ambushed, finally realizing that there was no outpost on this planet, but on the sister planet. _

"_Spock to Enterprise-"_

"_I'm tryin', sir, but something is scrambling the signal!" Scotty's brogue cut through the still air as Natalia scanned the area, looking for anything that was not a plant or rock. _

"_We are both working on it, and there is just nothing there!" Chekov's voice made Natalia pause for a split second, and she tried to ignore the desperation present. "Stop moving!"_

"_We're not moving!" Natalia hissed. Suddenly, though, she was, as she heard something snap from behind her. Turning, she fired three phaser shots, and heard the satisfying thump of something heavy hitting the ground. _

"_I think I've got you now." Scotty said, and bands of white light began swirling around the unusual looking pair. Before Natalia's body could throw up the weak tingling that signaled transport, she felt a sharp pain in her right calf. She fell to her knee, touching the spot on her leg and feeling something wet and sticky. The next moment, she felt something pulling her, and heard Spock's voice calling her first name. _

"_Natalia!" _

"Natalia!" This dream was suddenly too real. She could feel strong hands at her shoulders, and Spock's voice still filled her ears, though he seemed to speaking in a hushed tone now. She snapped awake, and her heart sank when she realized how real her dream was.

Spock was kneeling next to her, his dark eyes slightly wild as he gently shook her by the shoulders. For a moment she thought she was back on the Enterprise, but felt the chill of cold metal against her bare legs and winced. She was still in her holding cell, although now she was not alone.

"How the hell did they get you?" She asked groggily, sitting up from her slumped position. "You were beamed back up. You were there when I talked to Jim."

"Yes, I was." He was clearly shaken, at least to Natalia's fairly tuned eye. "We left the planet that you were taken on immediately, and had just reached orbit of the sister planet when your call came in. I beamed aboard the planet with Captain Kirk and Lieutenant Sulu, but while we were outside greeting the commander of the post, we were attacked again. This time I was the one that did not get away."

"Did you seriously walk into that again?" Natalia asked, fairly sure that Spock would not have done something that stupid.

"Captain thought it would be a good idea, and I acquiesced to his request." Spock shook his head slightly. "Clearly it was not the right decision."

"Have you figure out what kind of ship we are on?" She asked softly. Spock nodded once.

"Again, I think we are dealing with Romulans." He said softly. "The woman we spoke with, who is truly terrifying, is at least half-Romulan, though I am sure she is also part human. The vessel we are currently on is actually a high security luxury vessel, designed to commute groups of ambassadors and other dignitaries through space in a safe and opulent manner. It seems the woman with the bright hair has been using it to track down the Enterprise, as we are the only ones in space right now that knows the details of the Narada Incident."

"Why does she want those details?" Natalia asked.

"She is quite young and impulsive. She feels that she has been lied to by the Federation, and is in search of the truth." Spock stopped, then resumed his speech. "In many ways she reminds me of you and Mr. Chekov. The three of you are all incredibly intelligent and young. You are all in search of answers, though the questions may be too complex for you to understand."

"Please, sir, do not compare me to her." Natalia tried her best to bite back the sneer that threatened.

"I will desist, if you wish." He said simply. She nodded, letting her head fall back against the wall., She winced when it hit a sore spot she had forgotten about. Spock looked at her, concern again coloring his eyes. "Ensign, may I perform a cursory exam of you for injuries?"

"They're there, I can tell you that." She said, sitting back up. "Though you don't look nearly as beat up. I suppose it's a miracle they managed to subdue you at all, though."

His lips twitched into a slight smirk as he placed his long, slim fingers at her hairline, being extraordinarily gentle as he felt her scalp for cuts and bruises. "I must say, Ms. Flores, that I went rather quietly once it became clear they could incapacitate me. I did not argue or, as you would say, 'put up a fight', as I suspect you did."

"You got that right." Natalia muttered as his warm fingers came across the same spot the wall had. She winced slightly, and he lightened his touch further, until it felt like a warm summer breeze running through her hair. In the dim light, he inspected the side of her face that McCoy had pointed out, his gentle fingertips grazing across the multicolored flesh. "Is there a rescue mission planned?"

"There was." Spock said, reaching for her arm. When he was sure that her right was fine, save for a few scrapes, he inspected the left. "Much of that plan hinged on my discovery of how their transporter system worked."

"That didn't happen, did it?" She said, reading the slight change of tone.

"No, it did not." He said sadly. "Although Ensign Chekov is quite aware of this plan, and quite able to enter the system himself." He paused, looking down at the young girl in front of him. "Especially with the extra motivation."

"Is he a wreck?" Natalia asked softly, not sure if she wanted to know.

"He has a very good poker face, according to Jim." Spock said, and Natalia almost laughed at how awkward the statement sounded coming from the half-Vulcan. "He is not in the best of mental states, though he has been performing in a most productive manner. He is determined to find you and bring you back to the Enterprise."

Natalia smiled weakly, noting that although her examination had been over for a while, Spock had not removed his hand from her arm. She recognized it has an attempt to comfort her, and she was grateful. "Commander, do we know what they want with me?"

"I suspect that they want you to assist in an upgrade of their weaponry." He said, shifting so that he was sitting next to her, back against the wall. They were shoulder to shoulder now. "While the luxury shuttle is equipped with some basic defensive shields, they wish to be on the offense more often. If the recent thefts of several pieces of equipment from Starfleet bases in the area are related, than this shuttle has built up quite the arsenal, which I suspect they do not full know how to operate."

"So they want me to help them?" She shook her head gently, before letting it fall to Spock's shoulder. He did not move or stiffen at the motion, so Natalia assumed he was not uncomfortable with the act of familiarity. "What if I don't want to?"

Spock again let his mouth twitch into a small smirk, though she did not see it. "Very rarely do you show your true age, Ms. Flores, so it always comes as a surprise when you act like a human teenager."

She recognized the statement as teasing, and did not take offense. "Yeah, well maybe when we get out of here, I'll start acting out more often. I'll pierce my nose or dye my hair blue. There's teenage rebellion for you." She was slipping back to sleep, but fought against it to add one more thing. "Though if we get out of here, Jim might be so happy that he'll just ignore my blatant disregard for Starfleet Dress Code."

"I quite agree, Natalia." Spock said, and once he was sure that she was sleeping soundly, he decided to join her in the land of the barely conscious.


	14. See Him Part Two

**I'm back!!! So I don't think I have much to say with this chapter, except that Spock (which my autocorrect always changed to Sock until I added the damn word to dictionary) is still terribly OOC, though I will continue to hid behind the excuse that he's just trying to keep her sane. For reasons known only to him. But anyway, here's part two, which has even less Chekov than part one. I'm sorry. He will be back, and with a vengeance!!**

* * *

Natalia woke up the next morning to the sounds of Man-Mountain returning. She sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes and scanning the small cell. Spock was in the far corner, meditating. She smiled, part of her still glad he was there. Of course, that was the entirely wrong way to think, as his survival was more likely the further away from this spacecraft he was. But then again, there's only so much human side of Spock one can see without growing attached.

She looked up at Man-Mountain, who was still as difficult to see as ever. Natalia began to wonder if he was just made like. A genetic entity with its own cloaking device. She sighed, trying to contain her wandering thoughts.

"You." Man-Mountain spoke, his deep voice fitting his large form. "Girl." She snorted, against her better judgment. Everyone clearly thought she was twelve or something. She was eighteen, for crying out loud. She was officially a woman. She could vote and everything. "Come." He said, and she stood, walking through the small cell as carefully as she could, and once she was sure everything still worked, she quickened her pace, moving through the door Man-Mountain had opened. She waited patiently while he closed it, her eyes looking for an escape route she knew wasn't there. She allowed him to poke and prod her down the hall, and the walk was in the opposite direction of the walk to the communication center. Natalia stole glances wherever she could, and certainly heard more people working behind the closed doors. She saw that what Spock had told her the night before was true, and the was an air of opulence to the structures, though it had fallen into disrepair. Whatever crew the craft had was small and not thorough.

Man-Mountain finally opened a door at the very end of the hall, and Natalia suppressed a small gasp. It was clearly the bridge of the ship, if the large amount of beeping things and the familiar hum of working hardware was an indication. She bit her lip as she approached the main console, reminding herself that it was purely coincidence that it looked almost exactly like the one she had left behind. She studied it hard, and found many things that were not exactly right. It was not her console., not the one she shared with…

She stopped her thoughts cold, turning back to Man-Mountain, who had kept within arms reach of her after he had let go. He had turned his attention back to the door they had just entered, where very angry noises were coming from. Natalia could not recognize the language, and felt another pain that felt like homesickness as she realized that Uhura would know.

The shouting stopped, and after three seconds, the red-head walked in, looking as though she hadn't been shouting at anyone. Natalia tried not to roll her eyes. This ship was damn weird.

"Ms. Flores, I hope you have slept well." She said, walking to the console that Natalia was at. "I see you have correctly identified your work station, and now I will present you with your task." She motioned to the chair Natalia had naturally gravitated to, the center seat at the center console. Feeling her heart sink, she sat down, trying to stop her fingers from tingling in anticipation. Her body was sending her signals that it was time to work, and she didn't like how readily her body responded to an enemy's request.

"Now, Ensign, you will see that we have recently upgraded our own weaponry." Natalia nodded, and could see the almost-not-quite-smug expression that Spock wore whenever he had proven Captain Kirk wrong. "I want you to figure it out. My own crew here does not have access to the same brilliant schooling that you clearly have received, and so I wish to see you work out any kinks that might be present. Put that wonderful mind to the test." The woman dragged her long red fingernails through Natalia's sweaty, knotted hair, hitting the same stubborn sore spot that had not gone away. "I'll be watching."

Natalia nodded once, and ran a finger over the touch screen. It burst to life immediately, and Natalia instantly went forward to do basic scans of all the weaponry, sighing when she saw that nothing had been done to them besides physical installation. Knowing she had a long day of her, she got to work, her fingers flying over the keys as she programmed everything individually.

***

Natalia had only reached the midway point in her attack on their weaponry when the door opened again and Spock was lead in by Man-Mountain, who seemed much smaller. Natalia kept her eyes glued to the screen in front of her, silently cursing Scotty for having done all this work for her on the Enterprise, as now she could barely remember if she was right. She had already earned herself one long scratch down her arm with a red fingernail for daring to pause and stretch. It was much easier to curse Scotty than admit that she really missed him.

Spock was given his task in the same threatening manner by the tall red-head, though he seemed much less troubled by the task than Natalia has felt. Of course, that could be deceiving.

They worked in silence for at least an hour, nothing but the soft padding of fingers against screens. Finally, though, something went wrong on one of the screens. Natalia scratched her head, ignoring the pain it caused when she hit a dead end. Staring at her screen, she blinked a few times, unsure of what she was being told.

"We've seem to run into a problem." She admitted, steeling herself for whatever amount of pain she just earned.

"What kind of problem?" The woman asked, stalking over to her.

"Well, I have now started on repairs and upgrades to your shields, but…I can't find them." She admitted, running the scan again and showing her the completely blank section of screen. "The system does not recognize them as present."

"Fix it!" The woman said.

"I can't." Natalia shrugged. "You don't understand. It's not that your shields are reporting low, they are not reporting at all. Now, is there someone down in your engine room who would know if any equipment was offline or malfunctioning that could interfere with the operation of defensive systems?"

The woman stalked off, yelling into a communicator as she went. Natalia took a moment to look at Spock. He was still working at a steady pace, though Natalia had a strange feeling that he had something to do wit her sudden problem. She returned to her work, skipping over shields for the time being. The woman stalked back to her, eyes flaming.

"You're right. Ms. Flores." She practically hissed. "There has been a malfunction in the engine room, and currently all shields are offline. As you are not the one to blame, I suppose I cannot punish you." She glared at the younger woman, wishing she could hit her. "Get back to work." She said, stalking away to yell at someone else. Natalia did as she was told, her fingers flying across the screen.

Finally, after what seemed like 12 hours of nonstop agony to Natalia, Man-Mountain motioned for her to stand up. She groaned as he took her arm, but followed as compliantly as she could. She was tired and hungry and in all forms of discomfort and pain, and it was not helping her mood any. They did not turn to return to the cell, though, and that caught Natalia's immediate attention. She was lead back to the communication room, and she sighed. The teenage girl in her reared her head of perfectly maintained hair and shrieked at her current appearance. She looked like death warmed over, she was pretty sure, and there was a fairly large part of her that did not want to be seen like that.

She was surprised to see that the red-headed woman was already there, struggling to keep her temper while discussing something with someone on screen. Natalia listening intently for the responding voice, and smiled when she heard Kirk swear.

"Captain!" She yelled, and Man-Mountain tightened his grip on her arm, though she hadn't tried to get away.

"Looks like your little brat is here." The woman said, taking her arm in those scary red claws and dragging her into the screen. "She's far brighter than I expected her to be, I must admit. I did not believe the stories of her brilliance before. But she has made quick work of our tactical system, haven't you Ms Flores?"

"It would be quicker work if your ship was in better order." She said, scanning the scene before her. Everyone was exactly where they had been, those Dr. McCoy and Scotty were now very much visible. "You would cry in shame if you could see this, Scotty."

"Natalia, what are they making you do?" Kirk asked.

"Same thing I did for you, sir." She said slowly. The woman had stepped back, seeming to let them talk. "I just have to start from scratch here, because like I said, their ship is pretty much shit compared to the Enterprise."

"Is Spock with you?" Kirk asked. Natalia looked at the woman, who nodded, allowing her to answer freely.

"He is, sir. I would like to say he is holding up admirably, but it is Spock, after all. Any less would be shocking and wrong." She smiled gently, though it hurt a bit to do so. "He's currently reprogramming their system to be more effective and compatible with the weapons updates." She paused, something in her head clicking together. Spock had started his reprogramming after she had started her weapons work. The shields had been fine, running quite well, actually, until Spock had showed up. She smiled wider now, hoping that her thought process had shown on her face.

"Ms. Flores, do you know when you will be finished with the work you are doing there?" Kirk asked. He was keeping her on the line as long as he could, standing just in front of Uhura, who was tracing the signal as best she could.

"I'm not sure, Captain." She admitted, trying to figure out how to choose her words. "There is a lot of new equipment to work with here. It's not like the Kobayashi Maru, where everything is handed to you in working order." She saw his eyes widen suddenly, and was sure that she had his attention. "There's a lot of reprogramming to do, and there are some pesky subprograms to weed out. It's a good thing Spock is here to catch them all."

She watched as Kirk nodded, and almost visibly saw the click happening in his mind. "I understand, Natalia." He said, nodding. "It is quite impossible to tell when you will be able to return."

"Unfortunately, Captain." She said, her eyes scanning the bridge. Suddenly, she noticed another missing person, and she felt as though the ground let out below her.

"Captain, where is-"

"He's fine." Kirk said, having followed her eyes to the empty chair. Natalia nodded, though she seemed shaky. "He's working on getting you back." Kirk said, and she nodded again, finally tearing her eyes from the spot.

"Okay, time to say goodbye now." The red-headed woman come forward, trapping Natalia's arm again and smiling wickedly. "We will be in contact again, Captain Kirk,"

"I look forward to it." He said, and then disappeared.

"I'm hungry." Natalia said as soon as she was walking again.

"There will be food for you when you get back to you cell." The woman said. "You should be grateful that I allowed you to speak to your captain."

"I am." Natalia said. "I just can't express it through this all consuming hunger."

"Quit your whining." She said, handing her off to Man-Mountain. "Rest up, _mija_. You'll finish your task tomorrow, with any luck."

Natalia snarled at the misused term of endearment, but did not get a chance to respond. Man-Mountain was pushed her back towards the cell, and she allowed him, too fuming mad to stop him. When she was pushed back into the four walls of bars, she turned and started swearing at him in Spanish. Man-Mountain didn't notice, and just locked the door an lumbered away. Natalia continued swearing, throwing herself down against the wall. She barely notice Spock until he interrupted her rambling.

"You are quite angry, though I cannot understand why, Ms. Flores."

"Spock, I just upgraded half a weapons system to a quality just a step below that of the Enterprise." She said, as though he were a two year old. "The only reason it is not equal to the Enterprise is because they didn't manage to get Scotty here as well. Their main energy frame is only capable of so much, and right now they are pushing it." She sighed, running hand through her hair. "I just outfitted the enemy."

"But you are alive." Spock pointed out. "That is very important, Ms. Flores." He moved slightly, and produce what seemed to be a tray covered in what must have been food. Natalia's stomach rumbled with joy. "It seems you are hungry."

"You have no idea." She said, pulling what seemed to be some kind of bread off the plate. It was bland, though she didn't really notice. She munched happily, though her frustration was not ebbing. "I just wish there was something more I could do."

"Did you speak to Captain Kirk?" Spock asked

Natalia smiled at that. "I did. I also warned him that there might be a certain computer programmer who happened to have installed a subroutine that would effectively disable the enemy shields, in a perfect mirror of a certain Starfleet Captain's third attempt at the Kobayashi Maru simulation." She smirked, and she could have sworn Spock returned the gesture. "Nice thinking, Commander."

"I thought Jim would appreciate the gesture." He said simply, and Natalia rolled her eyes.

"You do realize that probably just saved our lives, right?" She asked, and he shook his head in disagreement.

"I may have made our rescue easier, though I have no doubt that Captain Kirk would have figure out how to retrieve us on his own." He too was eating something, though he seemed to be enjoying it far less than Natalia was.

"I just hope you're right." She said, taking another large bite.


	15. See Him Part Three

**Holy crap, this chapter is at least double the length of the others. Not even kidding. I was going to split it, but I couldn't find a good place. And I did promise you a Chekov-filled chapter, and there is only a small section in which he doesn't appear. Seriously, very small. You won't even notice. **

**And we've reached another milestone. This is the first story of mine to get over 100 reviews!!!!! You have no idea how excited I was when I saw that. I Literally screamed, and scared the dog so bad that she came tearing into the room, thinking I was being attacked. It was intense. So anyway, here's the conclusion of this little arc. I have no idea what to write next. Honestly, give me ideas, or else this is pretty much the end. **

* * *

_Natalia was furious. It was a suicide mission, one that even Captain Kirk couldn't get himself out of. She could not believe that he had volunteered. _

_Sending command of her section to Sulu and snarling something to him, she followed Chekov to the lift, fuming. He allowed her to step in, though when the doors closed his blue eyes turned to ice. _

"_You will not talk me out of this." He said stiffly. _

_Natalia was torn on whether she should hit him or hold him. She finally slipped her hand into his, her other tangling in his hair. "Please, Pasha." She sighed, moving closer to him, pulling his face closer so that their noses were touching. "I know you are still angry, but please, don't use that anger against me now. You won't leave that planet alive. We both know it." She was fighting tears, but his eyes stayed glazed over and angry. "I can't lose you. I can't." _

"_Should I believe that?" He asked. He had not raised his hands to hold her. "After what you said this morning, after all you have said, I should believe you now?"_

"_I was angry, you were angry, we both said stupid things." She couldn't understand why he was taking their little argument from this morning to heart. Honestly, she didn't care if he never remembered another breakfast date ever again. She just couldn't let him leave the ship. "I love you. You know that." _

"_But is it enough?" He asked, and now his eyes were sad. He captured her in his arms, and there was a note of desperation in his voice. "Is that enough to fight against fate?"_

"_What are you talking about?" She asked, her eyes searching his. "Why are we fighting against fate?"_

"_Fate is putting me down on that planet right now." He said softly, and she shivered. She knew, in that instant, that he would not return. The tears sprang forward, and she kissed him roughly, not wanting to believe it. He returned the gesture just as fervently, his hands gripping her tight enough to give her bruises. They both knew, though, that this was the last time. _

_He left. She stayed in the transporter room, and her tears started anew at the first sounds of phasers. She heard Kirk report in a shaky voice that Chekov was down. Soon, they were beamed back to the Enterprise, and when Bones announced the time of death, Natalia finally lost it. _

"_Jesus, no!" She yelled, moving across the small room and reaching for him. Someone caught her around the middle trying to both restrain her and comfort her. _

"_I'm sorry, Nata." Her heart broke at the nickname that he had given to her, spoken by a man she didn't love. "I'm sorry. There's nothing that can be done." _

"_No, he can't be!" She wasn't sure which language she was using, but it didn't matter. "No, please Pasha, come back." She collapsed against the strong body that held her, her tears hot against her skin. "He can't be. He can't! He promised me…"_

Natalia did not remember falling asleep, but she would never forget how she woke up. In her dream, she was fighting against Kirk to throw herself towards the body, determined to know he was alive.

In reality, she was doing quite a bit of damage to Dr. McCoy.

"Dammit, Flores, shut up!" He hissed, sending a glance behind him to Kirk, who nodded once before returning his gaze to the long hallway.

"Dr. McCoy?" Natalia's eyes snapped open, and she could not think of a time she was more grateful to see the irritable man, hypospray and all. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Don't give me lip, Flores." He retorted, running the tricorder around her, his scowl deepening with every new readout. "You are in far worse condition than you let on, something I am not thanking you for."

"Then get me the hell out of here." She snapped, for once equally as cranky. She did not enjoy being woken up at all, but especially from one of the worst dreams of her life.

"Show me you can stand up, first." He stood, holding out his hands. She took them and struggled to her feet, but made it. She swayed for a moment, but found that she was capable of moving on her own. McCoy kept a hand hovering at her back in case she started to topple, and walked with her out of the cell, positioning them between Kirk and Spock, who both had hand phasers. Natalia almost asked where Spock had gotten one, but McCoy shot her a look that would have made even Kirk shut it. The odd group roamed the halls silently, and it took Natalia nearly the whole trip to realize that they were headed right back to the control room where she had spent most of the day before.

"Captain, there is no way to undo the recent work without the proper authorization code."

"Pavel." She had stopped moving when she heard his voice, and it took a good push from McCoy to make her move now. She took three steps forward, putting her in front of the Captain and Commander, and he suddenly was in her view, seated in the very chair she had been not twelve hours ago. Her heart quickened at the sight of him, though she also kept enough sense about her to run an examination of his current state. He looked tired, his eyes heavy with the need to sleep, but other than that seemed perfectly fine. She knew she looked far from fine, but didn't care. He was alive, despite the evils that had plagued her subconscious. His words had suddenly sunk into her brain, and she even dared a smile.

"Of course you can't get in." She even managed an eye roll, ignoring McCoy's grumbling protests as she crossed the rest of the distance on her own. She came up behind him, leaning over his shoulder and encircling him in arms as she unencrypted the safety net she had used to make sure the enemy wouldn't be able to use their new technology. "You honestly think I would just leave it all out for them to use whenever possible?" She raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to argue. She hit the final command, and the entire room blinked into operation, screens lighting up from every direction. "You're in." She said simply, straightening up.

Spock was staring at her in mild disbelief. "You did not inform me of that, Ms. Flores."

"You didn't exactly inform me that you were pulling the shields offline, Mr. Spock." She said. He nodded once, as though to say "Touché." She turned back to the screen, watching Chekov's slim fingers fly through a series of commands. "You're destroying it?" She asked, a note of pain in her voice.

"It is the only way to be sure they don't use it against us." Kirk said from behind her. "You really want them to keep this?"

"No." Natalia pouted slightly. "But no offense, sir, I worked my ass off on that." She raised her head, looking around. "Shouldn't someone be chasing after us right now?"

"Guess how many crew members there on this craft." Kirk was smirking again.

"At least two." Natalia muttered, more to herself. She bit her lip as she watched Chekov work, thinking. "I would say twelve at max. There certainly isn't a lot of room on here, but there should at least be a skeleton night crew."

"You were closer with the first number." Kirk said. "There are four crew members on this ship."

"Four?" Natalia's jaw dropped. "No wonder they needed Spock and me. That's pathetic."

"We found them all sleeping in the crew quarters, and Bonesy gave them each a hypo of sedative to make sure they stayed that way." Kirk was exceedingly pleased. "By the time they wake up, they'll be headed to Federation court on piracy charges, at the very least."

"What, kidnap of a Starfleet officer isn't a crime anymore?" Natalia grumbled, her hand shooting down and catching Chekov's. "Don't do that."

"Why not?" He asked, though he curled his fingers around hers.

"It's a trap." She used her other hand to change the command. "I didn't want anyone having too easy a time getting into this thing, so I put in a few false trails. That one would actually send up a red alert, which would be very bad."

"If this isn't your ship, why'd you make it so damn hard to destroy?" McCoy asked.

"Habit." Natalia shrugged. "It's one of the first things they teach you at the Academy, and I was working so fast I didn't even try to go against my instinct."

"She is right." Chekov said, joining her still solo hand in typing in orders to disable and disintegrate. Their other hands remained joined on the frame of the touch screen. "The Enterprise's system has several false leads that if followed would send a message directly to the bridge that there was someone attempting to destroy the system."

"You just didn't know because it's never happened." Natalia added. The three senior officers were all in some sort of amazement, though not over the same thing. Kirk was baffled that there were aspects of his ship he hadn't discovered yet. McCoy was stunned that Natalia was still functioning, despite the several infections her body was battling. Spock was astounded by the way the pair of teenagers worked together. He saw how one would start the command, and the other would finish, without even a glance to communicate that it was needed. Their motions never hitched, and their hands never ran into each other. It was amazing to watch.

Finally, after a few more minutes of silence, Natalia smiled widely. "There." She said, lifting her hand from the screen. "We're done. Everything is just as I found it."

"You're sure?" Kirk asked, and she nodded. He flashed a smile. "The wonder twins strike again." He said as he pulled out his communicator, seeming very pleased. "Scotty, get us out of here."

"Already on it, sir." He said. "Transport in three…two…one."

Natalia smiled at the bands of white light appeared, more than ready to go home.

Exhaustion finally hit her like the proverbial ton of bricks as soon as she materialized on the pad of the USS Enterprise. She swayed, reaching out for help. McCoy was there immediately, his relief short-lived as he began barking orders and complaints.

"Flores, you're going to sick bay whether you want to or not. I don't know if you realize this, but that cell of yours was breeding ground for bacteria and filth, all of which has now settled into that nasty cut on your leg."

"It's not like I had a choice, Bones." She rolled her eyes, and the action made her dizzy.

"Just shut your trap and let me do my job." He muttered, finally giving up on having her walk and motioning for Spock to come forward. He did, and scooped her up before she had time to protest. That didn't mean she didn't, though.

"Argh, you know how much I hate this." She struggled weakly against his hold on her, though he paid her no mind. "I'm not just some sack of potatoes you can throw over you shoulder and haul around, you know. I'm a person, with some shred of dignity left."

"You've got about a shred of life left, too, now can it." McCoy was scanning every inch of her, pinpointing the problem areas and identifying all the underlying causes. "Set her there, Spock." She was set down on a biobed, and she squirmed immediately. "Stay still and it won't hurt." The doctor's voice was slightly less gruff as he noticed her discomfort. The new tone didn't last, though. "And what are you doing here?"

Natalia fought to keep her eyes open, and was rewarded with the sight of Chekov standing next to her bed, watching her. He raised his gaze to look at McCoy, an eyebrow raised in an obvious manner. "I am staying with her." He said.

McCoy thought about arguing, but eventually decided against it. He shook his head instead. "You damn kids are a pain in the ass." He muttered, going back to his assessment of Natalia.

She wiggled her hand slightly, and he smiled, taking it in his own. Something was making her very sleepy, and as she started to drift off, she felt his lips against her fingertips, a gesture so uniquely him that she could not mistake it.

***

_She sighed, leaning against the door that separated the two of them. The more she sat there, the more her nerve slipped away, until she was silently cursing Jim Kirk to the depths of whatever planet's hell was the most dreadful. Sure, it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Let him plan this whole party in the first place, since he's the only one who really wanted it, and then the night of just follow his orders. That's what she did, day in and day out, so it shouldn't have been that difficult._

_Then again, Captain Kirk had never ordered her to wear a dress before. _

_It wasn't just a dress, either. She wore a dress every single day, for crying out loud! She knew how to retain her dignity while wearing a dress. _

_The issue was the dress Jim had picked out. Yes, she had trust him and Uhura to decide even what she should wear to this event, and had clearly placed that trust in the wrong hands. Sure, they had consulted her every step of the way, and yes, she had given the final okay to the construction she was currently wearing. But for some reason, wearing this dress in front of Kirk, Uhura, and Spock (who had tagged along simply because Uhura was there), was much different from wearing it in front of her boyfriend. _

_He was waiting, just on the other side of the door. He hadn't been impressed with Jim's demand that they wear semi-formal civilian attire. It reminded him of what he had to wear for his sister's wedding, which had occurred on the hottest day Russia had seen in decades, outside on a large meadow with no breeze to speak of. It was about that point in his train of thought that Jim interrupted and reminded him that everyone would be in civilian clothes, including the birthday girl. _

_He had only seen her a few times out of uniform, though that was more than anyone else. But still, none of those had been occasions that required any actual dressing up. So it was with intrigue and a hint of trepidation that he sat on the edge of her bed just now, waiting for her to come out of the bathroom. _

"_Nata?" He called through the door, beginning to worry. "Lyubimy, what's wrong?" _

_She sighed, staring herself down in the mirror. "I look stupid." She grumbled, pulling her hair up into a quick twist. It made her look a little more put together, but she couldn't help but nitpick at her reflection. _

"_You look beautiful." He said through the door. _

"_How would you know?" She snapped. There was a pause where he thought of several answers, none of which she seemed in the mood to hear. _

"_Let me in." He said softly. She paused, and against her better judgment, responded. _

"_It's open." _

_The door swished open, and there were two distinct footsteps before she heard a gasp. She looked down, her bare feet squirming anxiously. She was sure he was now staring at her in horror. She felt uncomfortable, and younger than ever. The dress was so sophisticated, and even though she was now officially an adult, she didn't feel any more mature. She looked up into the mirror, and saw a little girl playing dress up. _

_He saw anything but. The plum silk was hugging her body, creating a dark silhouette against the pure whiteness of the bathroom. She had swept up her dark hair, leaving her full lips and bright eyes to take the spotlight. It was teasing him, to watch her. Every small step she took in her bare feet made her hips sway slightly under the light fabric, his eyes drawn by the movement. She bit her lip with frustration and worry, and he longed to stop the abuse. He couldn't understand how she kept her lips so soft and luscious while abusing them so. She adjusted the thick straps, and his eyes were drawn to her shoulders and neck, bare and open for him to run his fingertips over, which he promptly did, gently running his fingers down the full length of her bare arms. _

"_What are you thinking?" She asked, for once unable to read his expression. She was still clearly worried, though the sharp intake of breath at his touch was a good sign. _

"_I'm thinking you look beautiful." He said, pressing his lips gently against the spot where her neck and shoulders met. He had both of his hands at her hips, which had been tantalizing him since she had first seen in the plum silk. She smiled, suddenly very aware of why he had been so silent. His lips moved down across her shoulder, his fingers making swirls against her abdomen. She let the sensations wash over her, determined not to move. She closed her eyes and let her head fall back slowly, hitting his shoulder. His swirls hitched higher, across her stomach and over her ribs. She felt her back arching, and she was unable to explain how the simplest of gestures was sending shivers down her spine. _

_His lips were moving back up shoulders now, up her neck, stopping just under her jaw. He hesitated, just slightly, before twisting her hips to turn her around. She was suddenly facing him, and could no longer deny the deep-rooted desire burning in his normally adorable eyes. He pulled her into his arms, lifting her clear off the ground and laying her down on her own bed, his eyes never leaving hers. As their lips found each other, she felt the heat between them burn hotter, her breathing becoming more labored with every second he caressed her. She pulled him closer, her hands tangled in his curls as she traced the outline of his mouth with her tongue. He longed to touch the skin under the light fabric, and he felt the depth of his desire for her. _

_She found herself wishing, quite suddenly, that he was anything but a perfect Russian gentleman. A gentleman wouldn't be so controlled, wouldn't wait for her permission. She wanted him now, and yet, she didn't know how to let him know. Any other man would have gotten the hint by now, would have gotten rid of the now unnecessary dress with one quick movement. And yet, despite the fact that she had moved her hands under his shirt, tearing it off with the shortest separation of their lips, he was waiting, patiently waiting, for her to let him know. _

_So she did. Removing her hands from him, she reached behind her, quickly unzipping the dress. He froze as he realized what she was doing. She placed her hands at her sides, her dark eyes searching for his. When he looked at her, there was only question there. She nodded slowly, and sat up, taking his hands and placing them on her shoulders. He nodded once, and with a quick flick of the wrist, both straps were gone, taking the rest of the garment with it. He pulled out the clip holding her hair up, letting the dark waves cascade over them. Pushing her slowly down, he let his lips wander down her neck, even beyond her collarbone, though now he kept one hand entwined with hers. _

Unlike her last dream, she did not want to wake up from this one. The only thing that did bring her back to consciousness was her favorite sound in the world, and the tingling brought on by lips against her skin.

"Nata." He said softly, speaking against her palm. "Natalia, please. Dr. McCoy said if you don't wake up soon, he'll wake you up, and apparently you hurt him last time that happened." She smiled, opening her eyes and finding Chekov next to her, his bright eyes amused by what must have been Kirk's favorite story of the day.

"Was the Captain pleased with that?" She asked softly, holding on to the warm feeling left over from her dream. It had really happened, and yet her subconscious loved to revisit it every now and then.

"Extremely." He said, leaning down and kissing her lips softly. She deepened the kiss, running a hand through his curls. He pulled away far too early, though, and rolled his eyes. "Dr. McCoy is coming." He clarified, and sure enough, Natalia could hear his grumbling approaching quickly.

"Good, you're awake." He said, already pulling out equipment. "Can you sit up?" She did so, and he nodded. "Now, name, rank, serial number."

"Ensign Natalia Carmina Flores." She rattled off her number, raising an eyebrow.

"Just making sure you haven't lost your memory or anything." He shrugged. "Pretty name." He mumbled more to himself. She raised an eyebrow at Chekov, who shrugged, clearly not knowing where that came from either.

"Doctor, are you okay?" Natalia finally asked, shocked that he had not only complimented her, but was not bitching her out.

"I'm fine." He snapped, and for a moment he was back to normal. He shook his head, and gave her a look that could almost be described as tender. Almost. "You just had me worried, kid. Try not to get yourself into that state again, okay?"

"What was wrong?" Natalia asked. "I felt fine until I got back here."

"You were far from fine." He motioned down to her leg. "The wound that pulled you out of beaming in the first place was created with some kind of projectile that contained a compound that repressed your immune system, effectively telling your body not to heal. It spread through the rest of your system, so any other damage done would also hang around for a quite a while. I suspect that's why your captors went easy on you, considering you were a prisoner. They knew that you wouldn't bounce back."

"But why didn't she feel it, Doctor?" Chekov asked.

"Willpower, I guess." He shrugged. "You were too focused on getting out and giving us as much help as you could. Any pain or discomfort was pushed to the side." There was a glint of admiration in his eyes. "You're pretty tough. Much tougher than anyone would expect."

"Thanks, Bones." She smiled lightly, taking his compliment. It would probably be a while until she heard another one from him.

As though hearing her thoughts, he scowled, looking down at his charts and shaking his head. "There's no reason to keep you here, though I don't want you running around for a while. You're technically healed, but you still need rest. I'm giving you three days off, and if Jim has an issue with that you tell him to come talk to me about it. I'll stick a hypo so far up his ass he'll need three days just to get it out." With that image firmly in their heads, he left, going to terrorize some of the nurses that he heard chattering about something decidedly not medical related.

"He is very visual, isn't he?" Chekov said, an odd expression on his face.

"Yeah, you could say that." Natalia nodded, but swung her legs off the bed, smiling up at him. "So, when does Captain Kirk expect you back up on the bridge?"

"Not until tomorrow morning." He caught her wicked grin and returned it. "Why?"

"I had my favorite dream again." She softly, capturing a single curly between her fingers. "And I really didn't want it to end."

Ever watchful, Chekov made sure that the halls were empty before he pulled her into his arms, his lips crashing against hers. It took what little sense of decency she had left to pull away, slipping two fingers against his lips, her eyes meeting his smoldering gaze.

"Wait." She was practically giggling, something only he could make her do. "We can't get caught." She said softly, leading him towards the lift. He followed, careful not to let the gap between them get too wide. The doors closed, and he set his lips against her neck, softly inhaling her scent as he nuzzled her.

"I don't know if I will be able to let you leave again." He admitted gently.

"You don't have to for now." She said, not wanting to think ahead any farther than the trek to her quarters. "Please don't. Not now."

He trailed a hand down her back, and shivered, feeling it through her uniform. "I won't." He said, breaking away as the doors opened. He took her hand, and after the short walk down the hall, she opened the door, pulling him inside.

His lips were against hers, though she could feel something bubbling under his strong façade, something tinged with desperation. She took a half-step back, remaining in his arms but looking up at him, worried. He shook his head, curls bouncing, and pulled her back to him, burying his face in her hair.

"I can't let you go." He murmured, running his hands over her back. "You have no idea what I went through, and I don't want you to know. Just promise, you will not do that to me again."

"I can't." She said softly. "I can't promise anything. You knew this could happen. We both did."

"I know." He sighed. "It is out of our control. I know, Nata."

"Don't think of it now." She repeated, pulling his face to hers. "Right now, I just need you. Three days is far too long."

"Five." He corrected. "You were in sickbay for two resting."

"Wow." She muttered. "Were you there the whole time?"

"Most of it." He shrugged. "Dr. McCoy sent me away to get some sleep, but I couldn't. I didn't want to leave you for a moment."

"I'm glad you didn't." She kissed him softly, savoring his taste. He picked her up, carrying her to the bed. She smiled, slipping her hands up his shirt and tugging it off. "Don 't leave me now."

"I wouldn't dream of it." He smiled, and she practically purred, pulling him back to her lips.


End file.
